Landslide
by Erinskie
Summary: A family feud leads to tradgedy for the Curtis family. The events, past & present, are emotionally distressing for Scout, Pony's twin sister. 4th in a series of 6. Enjoy. Reviews are appreciated. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_**For new readers to this story **please note this is a sister story. Landslide is the fourth story entry with a character named Scout Marie Curtis, aka-Sissy _

**In my brother's gang they often called me by my nickname, Sissy. My oldest brother Darrel actually gave me the name when I was about seven. All of the boys in the neighborhood wrestled and played rough... Darry always told me to get into the game. One day I told him I didn't want to get hurt and he has called me Sissy ever since. For the longest time my parents thought he called me Sissy because I was the little sister. They were not to happy to hear the truth later that Darry was actually teasing me **_- Story excerpt from Family Bond _

_Scout is the 'seven minutes younger' twin sister to Ponyboy, her intelligence and common sense levels are higher than her twin's yet she is more analytical like Darry and less creative then Pony. She is very quiet and shy and not a "greaser girl". She is tough when she needs to be, but prefers to stay clear of violence whenever possible. She gets along very well with all of her brothers, even Darry. _

_At the beginning of the summer she met a girl named Casey who taught Scout how to be less of a 'tomboy' and more of a woman. Casey and Scout got along as well as Johnny and Ponyboy or Steve and Sodapop. Two weeks prior to Landslide Casey convinced Scout to skip the weekly football game and go to her house to have her nails painted and read woman's magazines. Scout agreed and she became involved in a traumatic family situation in which Casey's father, Duke Dobbins, shot his daughter then turned the gun on Scout. _**"You never heard anything, you never saw anything." Duke said as he stood in the middle of the room and looked down at me. **

**I tried to answer him through my intense fear. "Never … saw …." **

"**Damn straight you didn't." Duke smiled causing his mustache to lift. He raised his hand up revealing the gun. I couldn't take my stare from the darkness of the barrel. Duke pulled back the hammer on the gun. I closed my eye's tight, and shook. In the distance the sound of an approaching squad car caused Duke to curse out loud and flounder in his decision. I opened my eyes to see him pace nervously then he reeled around toward me and pointed the barrel of the gun in my direction, BANG! – **_excerpt from Escalation_

_For months she has been sticking up for Darry every time Ponyboy tried to say how hard Darry is to live with. Eventually Ponyboy's opinion began to sway Scout's opinion of her brother even though Darry had been there for her through everything in the past 8 months. With the altercation between Ponyboy and Darry in the near future who will Scout side with and what will she do? I hope you join us in finding out. _

_(The very beginning of this saga begins with the story Family Bond followed by Coming of Age, Escalation and now Landslide.. If you enjoy sister stories or any story that is written well you may just find this series to be amazing, entertaining and able to keep your interest, others have. I hope you enjoy!)_

**Disclaimer:** This fanfiction entry is based on the book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Many of the characters in this story are her creation and I thank her for creating them and allowing so many writers to borrow them for our writing hobby.

**LANDSLIDE **

Alone in my house I cuddled on the couch under a blanket reading my European history book. Time passed and the meatloaf I made for dinner began to simmer. The aroma filled my house and made my thoughts drift from the words on the page. I closed my eyes and thought about what life used to be like. A time when things felt normal and my parents were still alive.

Mom walked out of the kitchen with a dish towel over her shoulder. "Baby girl! Play me a song on the before dinner." I walked across the room to the piano. I always played when my mom asked me to.

"Soda! Pony!" Mom yelled to keep Soda from falling asleep and Pony's nose from being stuck in a book. "Come set the table for dinner, your dad and Darry will be home soon." Mom came to stand by the edge of the piano while I looked for sheet music.

Ponyboy wandered into the kitchen from his bedroom and Sodapop pulled himself away from the television. On his way to the kitchen Soda attempted to annoy me by pounding on the piano keys. Mom chased him away by slapping her damp towel across his butt. "Shew Soda!" She laughed with him. "Get that table set. The men will be back from football practice any minute." I began to play a song as my brothers tossed silverware across the dining room table and placed the plates and glasses.

I heard heavy footsteps on the front porch as the front screen door creaked open disrupting my pleasant daydream. I looked up as Sodapop and Ponyboy led the gang into the house. With a quick glance I could tell something was wrong. Then I noticed the blood stained handkerchief pressed against Pony's neck.

"Ponyboy what happened?" I jumped to my feet from the couch as Pony headed to the bathroom.

"Nothing."

I turned to the next guy though the door, my eyes wide in question. Steve noticed and curled his lip. "Them damn soc bastards jumped him."

"What? Pony are you ok?" I stepped onto the coffee table then to the floor on the way to check Pony in the bathroom.

Pony didn't answer but Darry's voice bellowed from the living room. "He's fine! Pony get a band aid on that cut!"

I spun around to watch Darry to be sure he wasn't going to continue to harp on my twin. Something then caught my eye. "Dally!" I said shocked for the second time in a minute. "What…. I thought you were in jail?"

Dally smirked his evil little grin. "Out early on good behavior." I shook my head in disbelief. Not because I thought Dally should have been behind bars longer, but if he got out early what about Duke? Could he be excused from shooting Casey and I for just having good behavior?

Ponyboy came out of the bathroom with a band aid on his neck. He looked around at the gang and quickly chose to wander back to his room to be alone. I followed behind him and spoke gently. "Pon' are you all right?"

"Yeah I'm ok." Pony rubbed his bruised cheek and walked into his bedroom.

I followed him and shut the door behind me. "Seriously Ponyboy," I sat next to him on the bed where he had laid down. "I want to be sure you are ok." Pony exhaled and rolled his eyes so I knew he wasn't fine like Darry had assumed. I leaned back toward him and propped myself up on one elbow. "What happened?"

"Well according to Darry I didn't use my head! I didn't think!" Pony glanced at me and continued with his sarcastic anger. "Forget the fact that I was just walking home from a movie… in my own neighborhood!" Pony could tell by the look on my face that I wasn't leaving till he told me what really happened. He looked up to the ceiling and I noticed his eyes water heavier than normal. "Scout! I was just walking home from a movie. I know I shouldn't have been alone, but I don't see why! It's our neighborhood." I listened as he became more emotional. "A few blocks from the house a group of socs came up and jumped me. They knocked me to the ground and held a blade to my throat."

I gasped and my emotions welled up. I could imagine what it was like for him to fear for his life. To worry that for no reason his life was in danger from someone he didn't know.

"I panicked and yelled for Darry and Soda just out of instinct… and they came. I guess they were all in the lot and heard me yell." Pony wiped the tears from his eyes. "I don't know what would have happened to me if they hadn't come."

I crawled over to Pony and threw my arms around his neck to hug him. "Oh Pony! Why can't everyone just leave us alone?"

Ponyboy hugged me back and cried. "I don't know Scout it just aint fair."

Darry's voiced yelled from the kitchen. "Scout is this meatloaf ready to eat?"

I looked over at Pony. "Everything is going to be fine. Come on … let's eat." Pony and I went to the kitchen to get ready for dinner. Only Soda and Darry were left in the house and the evening stayed quiet as Pony and I worked on our homework and went to bed.

Saturday held the same silence around our house. I don't think anyone wanted to be hang out if Darry and Pony were going to fight about walking alone the day before. Even Johnny didn't show up until late in the afternoon when Darry had already left for work.

"Hey Johnny!" I called out to him as he strolled through the door.

He answered back. "Hey … you coming to the movie with us?"

I walked through the dining room and sat on the edge of the table. "Nah, I'm not in the mood to hang out with Dallas."

"Come on he aint that bad." Johnny flashed a tiny smile knowing he was lying.

"Yeah, that's cause he likes you!" I smiled with Johnny. We both knew Dallas only liked me because everyone else did. Hearing Johnny's voice Ponyboy and came out of his room dressed in torn blue jeans and a sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off.

"Johnny you ready to go?" Pony headed straight to the front door knowing his friend wouldn't have any reason not to be. My brother paused as he opened the door. "Scout you should come with us."

"Thanks for the invite but I'm going to stay home tonight." Ponyboy frowned but didn't argue. "Alright suit yourself." The two boys headed out the door.

Suddenly the house fell silent. Eventually my overactive imagination began to torture my thoughts. I began to convince myself I heard sounds that didn't exist and saw shadows outside the house that were probably made by the people on the sidewalk and cars passing by. To keep my mind off of the unknown I laid on the couch and watched television programs for the remainder of the afternoon till Sodapop came home.

"Sis! Guess who came into the station today?" I smiled at my brother as he came home from work. "Dingy Delores! You know… James' mom?"

"Oh yeah? What'd she have to say?" My mind pulled up a mental picture of James bright green eyes and perfectly placed dimples. He really was the best looking boy in Sheppard's gang.

Sodapop kicked off his shoes and headed to the kitchen for a snack as he continued to talk to me. "Seems your old boyfriend is in reformatory school again."

"Oh?" I said and sat up on the couch. "What did he do?"

"He and Curly Sheppard robbed a liquor store." My brother mixed up a glass of chocolate milk and yelled from the kitchen. "You know she asks how you are doing every time she comes in for a fill up. She really likes you."

I smiled, "yeah, I can just imagine what her son's other girlfriends would be like." I thought about Cindy and her greaser girl ways.

My brother finished his drink then joined me in the living room to watch television. I was happy Soda was home because I really didn't want to be alone.

Hours later Steve Randall came waltzing through the front door a little past 7:00pm. "Soda you ready to go?" He yelled. I could tell by his voice he was anxious to get on with his night and see Evie.

Sodapop had been in the kitchen with me washing the last of our dinner dishes. Upon hearing Steve my brother looked at himself, still dressed in his work clothes. He looked at me and grinned, "Uh Oh!" Then he ran to his room and yelled to his friend. "Yeah I'll be ready in a minute!"

I put away the last of the dishes and heard Steve wander into the kitchen behind me. "Sissy? What are you doing home? Aint you got no where to go tonight?"

"I'm just staying home …where it's safe." I offered up a smile to try to make it seem as if I actually believed my own words.

"Hell Sissy! You gotta let it go!" Steve leaned up against the kitchen doorway. He looked tuff in his black t-shirt, blue jeans and jacket to match. "What happened at Casey's house … that was just a freak thing."

I looked away and walked through the doorway past Steve. "Yeah … well you weren't there …" I paused and turned on my heels to find Steve right behind me, "…besides I've had enough freak occurrences this year to last a lifetime. I don't need anymore."

Sodapop came bounding into the dining room wearing a dark flannel shirt that draped his white t-shirt and jeans. Steve dropped his conversation with me and started a new one with his friend. "Hurry up! Quit keeping the ladies waiting."

Soda smiled wide as he slipped on his black shoes and rolled up the pant legs of his jeans. "I'm Hurryin'. Sissy you wanna come with us?"

I looked at Steve then over at my brother. "Nah, I don't feel like going anywhere."

"Are you sure?" Sodapop stood up ready to go. "I don't wanna leave you behind all by yourself."

Steve jumped into the conversation. "She'll be fine here Soda. She's a tough girl." He smiled. "She's like Wonder Woman, dodging bullets and everything!" My brother looked over at his friend with a tough stare that said he didn't want to be reminded of the minutes when he waited in the street a few weeks earlier to learn if his little sister was coming out of the Dobbin's home alive or dead. Steve understood the look and shut up.

"Soda I just don't want to go." I could tell by his comment Steve was ready to go, without the little sister tagging along. Soda didn't get it though. He never saw a problem with Ponyboy or I hanging around. I suppose that was because we were family and being together just felt natural.

Soda sighed with disappointment. "Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." I smiled for his sake. "Now get going before the girls start wondering where you are."

Soda smiled at the thought of his girl. "Yeah… see you tonight." Then he and Steve left out the front door. I curled up on the couch to watch reruns of "I Love Lucy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

A loud pounding woke me from where I had fallen asleep on the couch. Frightened by the noise I decided to peek out the front window before I unlocked the door. I pulled the blinds away from the window glass. My eyes met with Darry's eyes that were peering in. I exhaled in relief, clambered off the couch and turned the lock.

Darry came through the door, faster than I could open it, with a look of panic in his eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah … why?" I answered back, temporarily dumbfounded by his concern.

"Sissy! You got every light in the house on and the front door is locked… I thought something happened."

"It's just that I don't like the dark anymore when I'm alone." I picked at my fingernails and wished I hadn't said that to Darry. I wasn't sure he'd understand.

My brother shook his head with frustration. "I'm home now so go turn off all those lights. It's costing us money we don't have."

I sucked in my lips and frowned like Ponyboy always does. Then I walked to the back of the house to turn off all the unnecessary lights. I met Darry back in the dining room where he was eating a plate of cold leftovers from dinner. "Where are Ponyboy and Soda?"

"I don't know. Pony said he was going to the movies and Sodapop is out with Sandy."

"Well they've got ten minutes to be in by curfew."

I looked back at my brother wondering if he actually thought I controlled when the two of them would be home. Deciding Darry must have had a bad night at work I chose to leave him alone. I walked back into the living room just as the front door opened.

"Hi Scout." Sodapop said quietly as he shut the door and kicked off his shoes.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing." Soda sat down in mom's chair with a scowl on his face. "Something is the matter with Sandy though." I sat on the edge of the couch letting him know I was ready to listen. "She was grumpy all night and she wouldn't even let me touch her. I couldn't even hold her hand!"

"Maybe she just didn't feel good." I added hoping to help.

"Sure… whatever." Soda shook his head in dismay then wandered into the kitchen for a late night snack. Darry had heard our conversation and he followed his little buddy.

I grabbed the pillow and blanket we kept in the living room and curled up on the couch. Darry and Soda talked for a long time about Sandy. I couldn't hear what Darry was saying but I doubted he was giving any useful relationship advice.

I had just gotten interested in a late night movie when Darry came storming through the living room. "Where in the hell is Ponyboy?" He yelled to no one particular and stepped out onto the front porch. I looked at the clock, twelve twenty. My brother stormed back through the front door. "Where is that kid at?"

Sodapop came back from the kitchen. "Don't sweat it Darry he'll be home soon."

Soda was wrong. The minutes built up. An hour later my eye lids grew heavy as I watched Darry finish pacing. He grabbed the newspaper off the coffee table and sat down to make another call in an effort to find out missing brother.

"Are you going to call the cops?" Soda asked from the end of the couch where he was getting sleepy.

Darry rubbed his brow trying to free his mind of frustration. "What do you think would happen to you three if I called the cops?" Soda just looked clueless at Darry as he continued to vent. "They'd call the State and you'd all be out of here for sure!"

Soda didn't argue with Darry's reasoning. Instead he laid his head back onto the couch and closed his eyes. I kicked my feet up onto Sodapop's lap and drifted off to sleep.

"….that's all I ever hear from you!" Darry's yelling woke me from my slumber. I looked toward the voice to see my brothers standing together. Soda pleaded to try to calm the impending storm of emotions. Darry snapped back. "I'm sick and tired of you sticking up for him!"

Shocked by the words I sat up on the couch and heard Ponyboy make a demand of his own. "Don't you yell at him!"

My heart jumped as Darry struck Ponyboy out of anger. My twin's body was propelled to the floor by the impact. For a second no one in the room drew a breath. As my brain tried to comprehend what had taken place Ponyboy leapt up from the floor and bolted out the front door.

I wanted to yell to my brother as he ran past, his eyes welling with tears, but all I could muster was a soft spoken call, "Pony?" Before I could speak again Darry and Sodapop ran to the door. I spun around on the couch, propped up on my knees and peeked through the blinds just in time to see my brother disappear into the darkness. My stomach felt sick and Ponyboy's past angry words about Darry began to echo through my head.

"Sodapop, you know I didn't mean too?" Darry began to plead for forgiveness. "I would never mean to hit Ponyboy or any of you. I just reacted."

Soda said what any reasonable person would say after witnessing a family altercation of that magnitude. "Sure Darry, I know you didn't." Sodapop pushed his brother back into the living room and shut the front door. "Let's just give Ponyboy some time to cool off and come home."

Darry looked at Soda with his ice-cold blue green eyes. "You think that's best?"

Before Soda could repeat himself I stood before Darry with angry tears flooding my eyes. "You did mean too!" My shouted accusation stunned my brothers as they looked my way. "I can't believe I ever stuck up for you! All those nights of telling Pon how much you cared for him were a waste! Ponyboy was right all along, you only kept us two around because Soda wouldn't forgive you if you didn't. You don't really want us here. You never did!" I hurriedly wiped the tears from my eyes wishing I hadn't given Darry the satisfaction of making me cry.

Sodapop blinked the shock from his eyes and demanded an answer. "Scout what are you talking about?"

"You're the only reason Darry ever agreed to let us stay." I pointed toward our older brother. "I bet you're happy now that Pony's gone!" For the first time in a long time Darry was speechless. He stood there and his mouth moved slightly but no words could come out. I watched him carefully as he suffocated from my words. I gave him no forgiveness as I sassed back. "Don't worry Darrell Junior I'll make things real easy on you. Monday morning I'll call the social worker and help her find good lives for Pony and I," then I stared coldly at him, "so you can get on with yours!"

It wasn't until that moment I noticed Darry's lip quiver. I looked into his icy cold eyes and saw the whites begin to flood with red. I froze in place and became aware of the unstoppable stream of tears on Darry's face. He was crying. Not just a little, he was ready to break down and cry out loud, but his pride wouldn't seem to let him.

Sodapop was appalled by what I had said and he offered comfort to my victim. "It'll be ok Darry…I know none of that is true." When Soda threw his caring hand onto Darry's shoulder it was as if Darry couldn't carry one more ounce of burden. He fell back into the chair, buried his head in his hands and sobbed out loud.

I stood dumbfounded. For days and nights I listened to Ponyboy complain that Darry didn't care for him. Pony had proof of how Soda was Darry's little buddy and if I needed Darry he would be at my side in a heartbeat, but not Ponyboy. Together we could hardly find a time when Darry wasn't on his case. I had joined Ponyboy in thinking Darry couldn't stand him, but now I knew Pony and I were wrong. In guilty silence I watched Soda who was kneeling beside our sobbing brother, whispering words of comfort in his ear and gently stroking his hair.

Hesitantly I drew an unsteady breath and stepped toward the two. "Dar…" I cleared my raspy throat, "Darry I am sorry." I spoke hoping for forgiveness. "I shouldn't have said those things. I know how much you have given up for us." I took a chance and stepped close enough to put my hand on his shoulder.

Darry didn't react the angry way I assumed he would. In fact he didn't react at all. He sat there and cried not caring who saw or heard him. His uncontrollable emotion forced Sodapop and I to do the same. Hearing us weep Darry grabbed us with his strong arms and pulled us close in two headlock hugs.

It took a long time for Darry to calm down. When he did I apologized again for my behavior. Darry looked at me with his red and blue eyes. "I know … I know all of this has got to be so much harder on you and Pony then I could imagine. It's just not fair that you two didn't have as much time with mom and dad as Soda and I did." Darry sat back and drew in a shaky breath. "If mom and dad had died when I was thirteen I don't think I would have ever been in football, or motivated to do as well in school as I did." Darry wiped his eyes with the handkerchief Sodapop had handed him. "So sometimes I just push to hard. I just worry too much."

I sat back on my heels and knew that in our neighborhood there was no way my brother could worry too much. Things just weren't that safe lately. I dried my eyes and glanced at the time. It was nearing three in the morning. "So what are we going to do about Ponyboy?"

Darry stood up. "Let's go to the lot and get him."

Soda and I put on our shoes and I grabbed a sweatshirt before following my brothers out the front door. Once we got to the street I grabbed onto Soda and Darry's hands. The wind was cold as it blew across the neighborhood and we entered the vacant lot. "Pony?" Soda asked in a low calling voice. The three of us looked around in the dark but couldn't see a trace of Ponyboy or Johnnycakes. I knew all three of us figured this was where they would be. We walked along the tree and fence lines, hoping they weren't there in the dark the way Johnny had been when he was jumped. When every inch of the barren lot had been checked we gathered together near the tire swing and looked into the silent darkness.

"You don't suppose he'd be at Johnny's house." Darry asked knowing that was highly unlikely.

"No way." I said. "I don't think Johnny's parents would even let those two in. Maybe he went to Two-Bit's?"

Darry shook his head. "Nah, I talked to Two-Bit's mom on the phone and she said Two-Bit was still out for the night. He wouldn't go there if Two-Bit wasn't home."

"Well Johnny aint around either and Pony said he was here in the lot, so they gotta be together somewhere." Soda turned and started to walk away. "Let's go check out the park."

Together the three of us walked quietly through the shadowy night. At every intersection we strained to see if Pony was in the darkness crossing a street or walking along a sidewalk. The early morning temperature was so cold I could see my breath in the lighting from the park as we climbed the hill to the play equipment. Again Soda softly called for Ponyboy, but there was no answer. 

"Oh no?" Darry mumbled as his eye caught something laying in the streetlight by the fountain. Soda and I jogged along with Darry to the figure. As we neared the body Darry through his strong arms out to hold us back. Quickly we knew by the tan slacks and expensive madras jacket that the boy wasn't Pony. We also could tell by the pool of blood and glassy stare that the boy was dead. Panic filled all three of us as Darry told us not to get to close or touch anything.

"I know this boy… he goes to our school." Soda nervously rubbed the side of his arms. "Darry you don't think Pony…." Darry looked over at Sodapop not knowing how to answer.

"No way!" I almost screamed. "Pony and Johnny could never kill anyone. Besides how could they? Pony never remembers to carry a blade and Johnny…." My brother's looked at me and we all remembered Johnny's words. 'I will never get jumped like that again, not over my dead body'.

"Oh Lordy!" Soda gasped and his voice cracked, "you don't suppose?"

Darry nervously looked at the wet dead body then around the park. "I don't know, but we better skin outta of here."

The stench from the fresh puddle of blood reminded me of when I held Casey's limp body in my arms. I cried out. "We can't just let this boy lie here!"

"I know that." Darry said and put his hand on my shoulder hoping to calm me, "we better get home and call the cops."

"The DX station is closer we should use the pay phone over there." Soda suggested. "Besides maybe that's where Pony and Johnny went."

Soda, Darry and I sort of jogged the next two blocks to the DX station. Alone in my thoughts I was trying to put together the pieces of the story. Pony missing, the dead soc and Johnny swearing he would never be beaten again. I began to realize Johnny and Ponyboy may have been responsible for the soc's death, but I couldn't convince my heart to accept it.

My brothers circled the station and found no sign of the missing boys. Darry pulled open the glass door to the telephone booth and dialed the operator. "Yes I am calling to report a dead body at the park at …"

Soda felt my cold cheek with his hand. "Let's go inside." He reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out a key to the door of the station. We stepped in while Darry finished speaking to the operator. It felt good to be out of the wind. Sodapop pulled a few dimes out of his pocket and tossed them up on the counter then grabbed three bottles of Coca Cola out of the cooler. Darry walked in just as Soda pulled the metal tops off the bottles. "What did the operator say?"

"She just asked a lot of questions," Darry was nervous and thirsty so he took a drink, "I didn't tell her anything. I kept the call anonymous."

Soda shook his head in agreement and paced the floor. "Good idea."

The intensity of the situation began to upset me. As I rubbed the cool side of the bottle with my finger I asked a question of my brothers with out making eye contact. "You guys don't suppose Ponyboy had anything to do with that boy. Do you?"

"Sissy, I sure hope not." Darry said.

I tried to hold back my tears and slightly choked on my words. "Somehow I know he did…" I sniffled and my eyes met with my brother's worried eyes. "… I just have a real bad feeling about all of this."

Darry pressed his hands against the counter and looked down at his boots. He remembered Pony and I had a special connection. One many occasions we just knew where the other was or how that person was feeling. No one understood how or why, but everyone in my family believed. Darry picked his half empty bottle of pop off the counter. He feared I was right. "We better get home. When Pony shows up he's gonna need us." Agreeing, the three of us stepped outside the station and began our walk home. We took a different route than normal so we could stay clear of the park.

"Hey!" A jubilant voice yelled from an alleyway a few blocks from our street. "Darry is that you?"

We stopped and turned toward the voice. No one recognized the man at first as he jogged towards us wearing his leather jacket and a black cowboy hat. Then he laughed and there was no mistaking the man for Two-Bit. As he came closer and recognized that Darry was with Soda and I our friend sensed something was amiss. "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Ponyboy recently?" Darry asked without responding to Two-Bit's question.

"No, not since I met up with him and Johnny at the Nightly Double, why?"

"Well … we had a fight at home and he ran out." Darry sugar coated the altercation for his own sake.

"Oh yeah? What time was that?" Two-Bit questioned and removed the cowboy hat from his head.

"Two." Darry replied.

"Two? I walked him and Johnny home well before midnight. That's the last I seen'um?" The sound of approaching sirens began to scream through the air growing closer and closer. Two-Bit looked in the direction of the noise. "Maybe them boys have found him for ya?"

"No," Sodapop said and hesitated to say more until Two-Bit questioned how he could be so sure. "While we were looking for Ponyboy and Johnny at the park we found a soc…dead."

Our friend's mouth dropped open. "A dead soc? You don't think?"

"We don't know nothing!" Darry reminded everyone. "Come on now, let's get out of here before someone gets suspicious."

"Hold up Darry." Two-Bit's face and voice turned serious. "After the movie Ponyboy, Johnny and I were walking these two girls home…soc girls. And out of the drive-in pulls this tuff mustang loaded with socs just looking for a fight. We bout took'em but one of the girls wouldn't have it." Two-Bit thought to himself. "Cherry was her name. She said she hated fights so they girls went back with the socs and we walked home. Those socs were drunk as skunks Darry. No telling what they would have done to Johnny or Ponyboy if they had found them lingering in the park or something."

Soda's eyes began to well with tears that reflected in the street light. "Ya'll lets get on home. Maybe Pony's back by now." We all agreed and headed on home before anyone else saw us out there.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three 

"Ponyboy? Ponyboy?" Darry called for our brother as we searched each room hoping to find him. "He's not here." Darry confirmed when we all met up in the kitchen. Superman's eyes began to tear up as he clenched his fists and shook his head in agony. "He's not here."

"Darry maybe we oughtta go look for him with the truck." Sodapop suggested hoping to find Pony so he could ease Darry's pain. "Besides we don't know for sure he had anything to do with that boy being dead." Soda turned to me and saw the doubt on my face. "Scout you stay here in case he comes home. Two-Bit you stay with her?"

Two-Bit's round eyes stared back at Sodapop. "Yeah sure … whatever you need." Two-Bit waited for the boys to leave and the rumble of the truck engine before he turned to me and asked. "Sissy what happened?"

I sat down on a kitchen chair and my head began to throb from lack of sleep. "I don't really know how it all started. Pony was very late for curfew…" I began to recall the moments that woke me from my sleep. "…I fell asleep waiting for him then the next thing I know Darry and Pony were arguing and yelling at each other then… then Darry hit him."

"Whoa." Two-Bit said softly and pulled a chair up beside me. Shock filled his face as he reconfirmed what he had heard. "Darry hit him?"

"Yeah." I tried to hold back emotions. "Ponyboy ran out and I … I yelled at Darry." At that moment I began to realize I may have been the reason we couldn't find my brother. "So we never went after Pony… and look what happened." I considered not crying in front of Two-Bit but human nature forced my emotions out. Two-Bit didn't care. Truth was he was probably the most understanding guy in the gang, outside of Sodapop.

"Come on now Scout, you don't know that Pony had anything to do with that boy in the park."

"I do … I don't know how but I just do." I cleared my eyes of tears but they just refilled. "Remember the time Ponyboy fell off the monkey bars at the park, and I knew he did it, but I was at home?"

Two-Bit remembered that day and many others when Ponyboy and I just knew strange things about each other, but he wanted to comfort me. "Yeah, but you don't always know."

I sighed heavy and looked toward the worn linoleum flooring in our kitchen. "Yeah, but I know now." I whispered quietly. "I know now."

After four in the morning Soda and Darry slowly strolled through the front door. They both looked as exhausted as they felt. Darry's face turned sick and pale as he realized Ponyboy wasn't waiting in the living room as he had hoped.

"No luck?" Two-Bit quietly asked. Sodapop collapsed onto the couch with Two-Bit and I and shook his head no.

I sat forward and looked to Darry, "What are we going to do?"

"Aint much we can do, I guess we just wait." Darry's face tensed up and he looked so defeated it broke my heart. I crossed the living room, sat in Darry's lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. My stoic brother began to softly cry and buried his head into the side of my neck. I didn't know what to do, but I did know I wasn't about to leave his side. I stayed with him till I finally was inundated by sleep.

Hours later I was the only one who woke from the sound of a car door slamming shut outside of our house. I lifted my head to find I was still in Darry's lap, the sun was shining and everyone was asleep in the living room. I stood up and stretched on my way to look out the window. Steve surprised me as he hurriedly came through the front door and shook Soda's body awake. "Soda get up! We gotta go!"

Sodapop jerked awake, "what… what is it? Did you find Ponyboy?"

"No man, I don't know anything about Pony… It's Sandy! Her parents are sending her away to live with her grandmother." Steve's voice woke the other two in the room.

Soda's mind was still asleep as he rubbed his eyes. "What?"

"Evie just told me… Sandy's pregnant and her parents are making her move to Florida, she's leaving today! Buddy we gotta get over there." Sodapop grabbed his shoes and ran out the front door with Steve in tow.

Knowing this was just one more piece of devastation for the family I timidly looked over at Darry who took the newest tragedy hard. His mouth was dropped and he slowly shuddered his head in dismay. Everything he has tried to do right in the past eight months was only leading to destruction of our close knit family.

I turned my attention to Two-Bit and we shared a long unspoken stare of concern. My mind began to flood with everything that had gone wrong in my life since that last snowy day in February. I spoke my unsettling feelings. "They're never going to let us all stay together now." Two-Bit opted not to add in his two bits and that was a tell tale sign that things had gone from bad to worse.

As if sleepwalking Darry wandered into the kitchen and I could hear him digging through the cabinets searching for something to eat. My stomach was in so many knots I knew there was no way I could choke down any food. Two-Bit didn't share my lack of hunger. He strolled into the kitchen behind Darry for breakfast. I followed the two of them because I didn't want to be alone.

"What do you think Sodapop is gonna do?" Two-Bit asked as he began dipping bread into the mixed egg batter my brother had given him.

"Huh?" Darry was lost in his own thoughts and didn't hear what Two-Bit had asked.

"You think Sodapop will marry her?" Two-Bit rephrased the question.

"He's too young to get married." Darry stated assuredly. "He probably will when he is older though."

I thought about what it would be like, Soda having a baby to take care of. Heck he could barely take care of himself sometimes. I imagined him having to get up in the middle of the night and rock the baby, having to give it baths and deal with it's crying. It would be hard work but I believed Soda could do that. In fact I bet he would be a great dad, just like ours was.

Darry and Two-Bit sat at the table and ate their french toast for lunch. Darry forced me to drink I glass of milk since I refused to eat. No one talked about Ponyboy just Sodapop and Sandy. Darry and Two-Bit discussed if Soda would be able to convince Sandy's parents to let her stay in town. We knew how miserable Soda would be if Sandy really had to leave. We also wondered if she had to leave, would she ever come back?

When the breakfast dishes were cleaned and put away Darry called out to Two-Bit and I. "Let's go down to the lot. I want to see if Ponyboy is there now or maybe at Johnny's house." Two-Bit and I shared a look to confirm that we had both thought Darry was out of his mind. There was no way Pony would stay at Johnny's house. I slid on my tennis shoes and didn't argue the thought, but Two-Bit did.

"Do you really think they are at Johnny's house?"

"No," Darry tucked in his shirt. But it's a place we haven't checked yet." Darry had a good point so we followed him down the street, but not to Johnny's front door. That duty was best suited for the sturdiest man in the gang. Two-Bit and I gathered nearby on the curb by the vacant lot where we could watch Darry.

My brother stood up straight and walked up to the Cade family home. After the knock Johnny's mother came to the front door. Her hair tussled and her housecoat filthy like Johnny's clothes often were. "Whadda ya want?" She snapped.

Darry cleared his throat and used his best "All American Boy" manners. "Mam' I'm looking for Ponyboy Curtis. I am wondering if he has been by here or if he stayed here last night with Johnny."

The woman leaned out of her doorway toward Darry and screeched. "You think I'd let one of you no account hoodlums in my house?"

Darry ignored her degrading remark. "Is Johnny home?"

The woman looked over her shoulder and yelled into her house for her son. When there was no reply she answered Darry's question. "Nah he aint here so why don't you go find something better to do then bother me?"

Darry ignored her again without adding any of the snide remarks about her he kept guarded in his mind. He thanked the lady for her time and joined us in the lot. "That woman sure is a horrible person."

We agreed with him and walked toward the abandoned cars, searching each one, hoping to find Ponyboy curled up inside. The vacant lot and all of it's hiding spots were empty. Crushed, we sat down on the tree trunk stumps and old car seats as Steve's car pulled up along the curb. It had been over an hour since they had left and we were all surprised to see them back so soon. Steve and Soda climbed out of the car and wandered over to where we were sitting. Sodapop looked absolutely miserable as he approached.

"Is everything ok?" Darry stood up and grabbed Sodapop's shoulder with his powerful hand. Soda meekly shook his head no. At that moment our brother couldn't speak for fear he would breakdown and cry.

Steve spoke for his friend, his voice angry and agitated as he lit two cigarettes, one for him and one for Soda. "Sandy was two timing Sodapop. She says the baby aint even his. We couldn't believe it, he had been so good to her!" Darry exhaled a sigh of relief that made Soda wince, Steve continued. "Soda offered to marry her anyway and her father just about threw him out the front window. Sandy didn't want to marry him neither. So she packed her bags and left with Soda standing there on the sidewalk watching her go."

Before anyone else could comment Soda spoke to change the subject. "Any news on Ponyboy yet?"

"Nothing." Darry told him. "Little buddy I am sorry to hear about Sandy."

Sodapop shrugged his shoulders and Steve looked to us for more answers about Pony and Johnny. "Soda told me what happened last night, have the fuzz been to your house yet?" Darry shook his head no as Dally's voice casually yelled out from the far end of the lot.

"Hey ya'll are we going to play football today or what?" His question reminded the gang that we hadn't played out usual weekend game of football since the day Duke Dobbins came to town. Dally eyed our long faces and played it cool. "How's it hanging?"

We looked at him and Steve spoke up. "Not too good. Soda just learned that Sandy was two timing him and got knocked up. Worse, Johnny and Ponyboy ran away last night and a dead soc showed up in the park about the same time. We're starting to think maybe they killed the kid."

Dally looked at no one as he put his cigarette to his lips and took a long drag before responding. "What makes you think they had anything to do with it?"

"Ponyboy and Johnny are still missing." Darry quietly spoke.

"Don't sweat it Darry, those boys'll show up." Dally took another stalling drag on his weed.

In the street a passing squad car noticed our gathering and screeched to a halt. Two officers quickly exited the car and marched up to where the six of us were gathered. "Dallas Winston!" The lead cop yelled. "Your coming to the station with us."

Dally stood tuff, tossed his still burning cigarette aside and stared down the officer. "What for?"

The young officers grabbed Dally and forced his hands behind his back. Each of us wanted to jump in and help our friend but we knew better than to get involved. While the officers pulled him toward the squad car one of them answered. "Murder."

"Murder?" Dally questioned.

"Yeah, unless you got a rock solid alibi for where you were last night you are the prime suspect in this neighborhood for the stabbing death of a seventeen year old boy." The cocky officer grinned as if he had the case all figured out. "I bet you aint got one!" Dally just flashed his deviant smile as the two men hauled him off to jail.

I sat down on a log and tried to sort out the conflicting facts in my head. "Ya'll don't think Dally … I mean…"

"No way!" Steve turned to defend his friend. "There aint no way Dally would've murdered that soc."

I glared over at Steve and snapped. "Oh you don't think Dally would do it but maybe Ponyboy would have?"

Steve barked back. "I aint saying that! I just don't think Dally would've stabbed that boy then stayed in town." Steve immediately realized what he had said as he glanced at our dropped faces. Nervousness filled Steve's body as he hitched his thumbs in his belt loops and peered his eyes upon me. "I aint saying Pony or Johnny did it either!"

"Sure as hell sounded like that was what you were saying." I didn't care how mean I was being to Steve and I wasn't sticking around for any more argument. I stood up from the log and headed home. No one called out to me so I figured they were staying at the lot. I stepped off the curb and took a few steps toward my house when the site of two squad cars made my stomach turn uneasy and my feet stop. I glanced back in the direction of the lot to find the gang was only a few dozen feet behind me.

"Oh glory what now?" Two-Bit called out as Darry and Soda ran ahead of me to our house.

Steve sympathetically grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it tight. "Don't worry'bout it Sissy, everything is gonna be alright." Then he pushed me from my frozen stance and walked me home.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four 

"Sissy? Sissy?" I lifted my heavy eyelids and found Darry standing above me. "Come on rise and shine. You got school in 30 minutes and you're going, I don't want any arguments." I rolled my eyes and rolled away from my brother. It was then that I noticed the surroundings and realized I was in Darry's room.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes while Darry stood at the end of the bed and pulled his boots on. "Darry… did I sleep walk again?"

"Yeah, you were crying too." Darry spoke gently and turned to look at me. "You kept babbling something about not wanting to ride the train, that you'd rather be home."

I thought hard. "I don't remember that at all."

Darry figured I didn't as he threw a flannel shirt over his shoulders. "Come on now, get on up outta bed. Steve and Two-Bit will be here any minute."

I climbed out of bed and walked back to my bedroom to find clean clothes for school then headed to the shower. Once I was clean and dressed I walked out into the living room to find Two-Bit and Steve waiting for me. The mood of the room was somber and I noticed Soda leaning over the dining room table reading the morning paper. 'Ugh', I thought to myself as I realize the story was hitting the papers this morning. I walked to the table and read the article upside down. I could read words upside down as good as I could right side up. Sodapop thought that was amazing even though I told him is wasn't that uncommon of a skill.

The paper told little about the murder other than stating the dead boy's name was Robert Sheldon and all the wonderful things he did at school and in the community. As I read, bits and pieces of events from yesterday popped into my mind. I remembered the officer told us he had a witness that knew Ponyboy was in the park and all he wanted to do was speak to him. Darry let the officer know Pony was missing and we hadn't seen him, but I wasn't sure the officer believed him. The article went on to say the police had a list of suspects, two men in questioning; one probably Dallas, and further investigation to do. It didn't ever mention that Ponyboy or Johnny were suspects, or even missing.

"Further investigation?" I asked Darry. "I guess that means they still don't know what happened, huh?"

"I don't know?" Darry lifted his tool belt onto his shoulder. "Let's get on with our day now, if Pony comes home he'll know where to find us."

I didn't think anything about going to school but I wished I had as I got closer to my locker, dead in the middle of 'soc's row'. Everywhere well dressed girls were crying and holding each other as the news of Bob's death spread through the school halls. Groups of boys gathered together and were staring at me as I passed. I wondered if they knew who I was. I opened my locker hung my coat up and grabbed my books.

"That's his sister." I heard a boy's voice yell out. "Hey greaser!" I looked straight ahead into my locker. I didn't want to turn around. I hoped that if I just stayed still everyone would go away and ignore me. "I'm talking to you!" I felt a shove at my shoulder that pushed me into my locker. I was trapped. I took a deep breath and turned around to find a dozen socs staring back at me, boys and girls. I felt my lip begin to quiver and my knees trembled.

"Yeah that's the Curtis boy's sister. I had her in one of my classes." A good looking soc with dark brown eyes hissed to his friend.

"Your brother killed our friend… and you're gonna pay for it." Then the tall blond boy grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from my locker. I could feel my heartbeat pounding through out my body as I pulled backwards. The soc lost his grip on my wrist causing me to fall onto the cold concrete floor.

I looked up at the socials laughing at me. My emotions filled with anger. I pushed myself up off the floor and lunged toward the blond soc knocking him down. I knelt on his chest and threw a hard, solid punch to the left side of his face. The boy's friends grabbed my arms and pulled me backwards. I flailed my legs and managed to kick the boy a few times before the fight was broken up. I tried to wiggle free of the grips on my arms, but I was stuck so I screamed. "You socs think you know it all just because you have it all! Well you don't! You'd be nothing without your daddy's money and your mamma picking your clothes out!"

Most of the boys laughed at my ranting and the girls had looks of shock and disbelief. I heard one of them comment. "Greaser girl!"

Before I could tell them I didn't care about their opinion of me two teachers came out of their classrooms to see what all the commotion was about. One of the teachers I knew from the last semester, Mr. Phillips. He had been my chemistry teacher. He knew me, and my life, due to the passing of my parents. He slightly pushed the boys away from me and his eyes widened. "Scout Curtis?"

I stared back at him but felt no shame for my behavior, why should I? The socs never did. "Yes sir." I answered as I tucked my loose hair back behind my ear.

Mr. Phillips looked at the soc who had a small trickle of blood coming from the side of his mouth. "Both of you! To the Principal's office!" The other female teacher led the soc down the hall and Mr. Phillips walked with me.

"He started it." I told the teacher letting him know I would never behave that way without being provoked first.

Mr. Phillips looked down at me. "Justin Fisher? I'm sorry Miss Curtis but I couldn't see him doing anything like that. He's the school vice president!"

I shook my head and looked to the ground and realized how untouchable the socs were in this school and in the community. From that point on I chose to keep my mouth shut tight. Even in the presence of the Principal I refused to speak. He asked me what happened, why I would feel the need to attack an innocent boy, etcetera etcetera. I kept my reasons and comments inside the security of my own mind.

Principal Leary leaned over his six foot two body across the desk one last time. "Miss Curtis you have an obligation here to tell us what you were thinking!" I looked over at the soc who was grinning ear to ear because he knew he was getting away with his deviant behavior. Then I looked directly at the gray haired principal and rolled my eyes. I had hoped he would get the picture that I didn't want to speak about the incident, but he didn't. "Well you've left me no choice but to suspend you for three days."

"Three days?" I yelled out. "Are you serious? You let these rich kids practically get away with murder and I'm the one with the suspension?"

Principal Leary leaned back in his chair and eyed me closely. "Miss Curtis, you might want to choose better words about who is getting away with murder around here."

Instantly I knew he was referring to my brother and my friend. I felt hot tears well up in my eyes. My body began to shake with anger and the need to flee the office. I briefly considered what appropriate behavior would be then I realized how much I just didn't care. Without warning I stood up and stormed out of the Principal's office. Behind me I could hear him commanding that I return, but I wouldn't. For the moment I didn't care if I ever set foot in school again.

The Principal tried to follow me but I lost him the crowded halls of passing time. I slipped out the front door of the school and searched for a destination. I had nowhere to go and no money to take me anywhere so I opted to find Steve's car and wait in the backseat until lunch. For hours I sat and laid in the backseat thinking about everything that had gone wrong in the past eight months. Once again I started to regret my poor behavior. I was laying on my back in the middle of cursing myself out when a familiar face pressed up against the window.

"Well, well what do we have here Steve?" Two-Bit sang out as he and Steve pulled open their respective doors to the car.

"Looks like we found the reason we got called out of class and sent to the Principal's office!" Steve shared as he climbed into the front seat.

"Yep and looks like the reason ole' Darry had to be called and told about that suspension his little sister got for bustin' a soc's lip!" Two-Bit was grinning with pride as he envisioned me taking on the boy the way I taught Cindy a lesson last spring.

"Doesn't pay to be Sissy's friend anymore. All she does is get us in trouble." Steve laughed then turned to me with a look of concern. "Ya know Darry and Soda are gonna skin you for getting suspended and skipping out of school."

I knew they would and I knew their disappointment in me was going to hurt, but I didn't tell that to Two-Bit or Steve. Instead I stayed on my back and stared silently at the headliner. Steve put the car into drive and headed to the grocery store for lunch. The whole ride I stayed quiet.

"What? You aint gonna say nothing?" Two-Bit asked me and then looked at Steve. "She flattens a soc and teaches those bastard a lesson about pickin' on our women and she aint gonna say a thing." Two-Bit turned around to beg. "Come on Scout! Tell us what happened, what did the soc say?"

He was right, I wasn't going to say a thing and I didn't. Not even when we arrived at the grocery store. Not even when the greasers there talked about the rumors they had heard at school about the murder. I listened, but I didn't say a word.

"…I heard a group of them socs were set to jump those two boys." A dark haired greaser lifted his chin toward me. "A soc got pushed into the park fountain then your brother came up and stabbed that boy."

A shorter, thinner greaser spoke up. "Nah that aint it at all. I overheard some soc say he was there." The greaser's words caught everyone's attention. "He said he'd been talking to the cops all day yesterday. He and his friends were trying to drown Ponyboy in that fountain and the other kid stabbed the soc. He probably would have killed them all if the socs hadn't run away so fast."

"Yeah I heard that too." A third boy confirmed the final rumor. "It was right from the soc's mouth, he's in my math class, Randy somethingorother."

Steve and Two-Bit looked at each other then Steve clarified what had been said. "So them socs jumped Pony and Johnny, and Johnny stabbed one of them?"

"Yeah that's what I heard." The skinny boy said. "Stabbed him to save his friend."

"Sounds like something Johnny would do." Two-Bit said quietly. We all knew how much Johnny loved Ponyboy and vise versa. Those two would have done anything for each other.

I leaned up against the corner of the building and thought of how terrified Johnny and Pony must have been that night. Slowly I began to convince myself it had been my fault that no one was able to rescue them. If I would have kept my mouth shut maybe Darry and Soda, at least Soda, would have gone after Pony and brought him home. The guilt just furthered my resolve not to speak again. Silently I slipped away from the crowd of boys. I headed down the street and walked myself home the long way. I didn't want Two-Bit or Steve to track me down. All I wanted was to be alone… all alone.

Back at the house I crawled into bed and tried to sleep. I felt almost as bad as I did when my parents passed away. I had lost all interest in school, eating, speaking and having any contact with anyone. All I wanted was to totally shut myself down so I couldn't be hurt anymore. I spent a few hours convincing myself it was a good idea, then Darry came home and tried to change my plans for me.

"Scout Marie Curtis!" He bellowed as he came through the front door. I could hear his boots purposely stomping on the floor to let me know he was mad. "You better be in the house!" I stared up at my bedroom ceiling as my brother came to my doorway. "What the hell is going on in your head? Huh?" Darry walked into the room, his large arms tensed for an argument. "Suspended for fighting! What the hell were you thinking? Are you crazy."

In my mind I answered all of his questions, 'not much, I said not much! I wasn't thinking, duh. No I'm not crazy, I'm mad. I am mad that everything bad seems to happen to me all the time. It just aint fair and I'm not dealing with it anymore'!

"Listen up little lady! We all have our share of problems right now and I didn't need you adding to them! Did you know I had to leave work early to go to the school and talk to Principal Leary? I can't believe you would get in a fight at school! At home here in the neighborhood is one thing, but there is no place for fights at school." Darry began to pace because he wasn't getting any reaction out of me. I think inside he wanted to grab me and shake me till I spoke, but he knew better now. He knew what the consequences of that action could lead to. After a minute worth of stand off and being ignored Darry chose to leave but paused in the doorway. "Geez Scout! Why would you get into a fight at school anyway? Huh?"

Even though tears were seeping out the corners of my eyes I didn't speak. I didn't tell him anything even though he certainly deserved an answer.

Darry eyed me laying on my bed and staring into space. "This silent treatment thing is only gonna get you in more trouble! You better tell me what happened!" Darry demanded and barely paused for an answer. "By the way your welcome! After a long talk with Principal Leary your suspension is revoked. You can't have a suspension on your record and get a scholarship! Keep that in mind next time you wanna go poppin' off on someone." With that Darry turned to stomp out of the room. He was a few feet down the hall when he turned around yelled back to me. "I'm sending Soda back there to talk to you when he gets home. You're not out of the woods yet little darlin'."

I pulled the pillow out from under my head and laid it on top of my face. 'Not Sodapop!' I thought. I hadn't considered him into the equation when I decided to keep silent. Soda may have been the one person who could break me, so I decided to spend the next hour working on good reasons to ignore responding to him too.

Later I heard the front door creak open and Sodapop walked into the house with Steve and Two-Bit in tow. Darry wasted no time in leaving dinner on the stove to confront Sodapop with the problem he was having with me. Slowly I tip toed down the hall to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Did Steve tell you what Scout did today?"

"Yeah… " Sodapop slumped his posture a little. "…but right now I got something else on my mind."

"What's the matter?" Darry asked as he glanced at the dark cloth hanging in Soda's hand.

"At lunch time I went by Buck Merrill's place to see if Dally was out of jail. I found this in Dally's room on the floor." Soda handed the sweatshirt Ponyboy was wearing on Saturday over to Darry. "At first Dally said he had no idea how it got there but I wasn't leaving without an answer. He said he didn't know anything about this. Only mentioned that he and Johnny had once talked about a good hiding place if there was ever trouble." Sodapop sighed then looked up at our brother with those hurt puppy dog eyes. "Dallas says Ponyboy and Johnny would likely have headed to Texas."

"Texas?" Darry asked knowing Ponyboy had never been there.

Soda looked ill and I could tell he was on the edge by the tone of his voice. "That's what Dally said and that's what he told the cops too."

Two-Bit's eyes showed a plan building in his head. "Ya'll if they're in Texas we'll just head on down there and get'em."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Two-Bit! Texas is the biggest damn State in the country! They aren't just going to be hanging out at the first city you go to."

"I didn't say it was going to be easy." Two-Bit barked. "Besides I aint got nothing holding me here. I'll just gather up some money and head down there to look for them. They're walking so they won't be getting to far to fast."

"Two-Bit your crazy." Steve poked at him.

"Well it beats just sitting around here and doing nothing!" Two-Bit shot back.

"Two-Bit you aint going nowhere." Darry interrupted. "Steve's right you've got little chance of finding them. Besides Dally's probably lying anyway. Since when have we known him to tell the truth to the fuzz?" Darry was right and no one argued.

"So what are we gonna do?" Soda asked our brother and made a motion toward the sweatshirt.

Darry looked around the room trying to make a logical decision for the group. "I don't rightly know Soda! I guess we just do what we've been doing and wait."

"Wait?" Soda questioned and furrowed his brow in anger. "Wait for what?"

Darry answered his little buddy. "Either wait for Ponyboy to come home or Dally to tell us where the hell he is!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five **

I leaned the back of my head against the wall and lifted my eyes to the ceiling. I wished I knew how the socs had caught Ponyboy. Why hadn't he been able to run away? What was he thinking as those bastards trapped him underneath the chilly water. Why didn't he come home when he knew he and Johnny were in a heap of trouble? Pony knew Darry was the smartest one in the gang. Why did they have to go to Dallas Winston?

I turned down the hallway in dismay and wandered out the back door in my jeans and t-shirt. My stocking feet were cold as I passed through the cool grass and left out the back gate. On my way up the street I stared at Casey's old house. I remembered every moment of that nightmare as if it were happening in the present. I shook my head to change my thoughts and headed through the vacant lot. In the muddled confusion in my mind I had hoped to find my brother there, but he wasn't because he had chosen to listen to the advice of a convicted juvenile felon.

Many blocks later I arrived at the park where my brothers and I used to come and play when we were kids. As I walked toward the fountain I cracked a smile. I recalled how, on more than one occasion, Darry had picked Sodapop up and threw him into the fountain to the constant amusement of everyone in the gang. It always amused Sodapop too.

I stopped at the edge of the fountain. I could tell by the faint smell of bleach the fountain had been scrubbed clean and just recently refilled. I held my breath and peered into the fresh clear water fearing I would find Ponyboy's body sunk to the bottom, eyes open and glassy just as Bob's had been. Reality peered back at me and all that appeared was the crystal clear water. Slowly I reached my hand in to touch the liquid, it was cold, like death.

I stood in the park a long time. I wasn't mentally aware enough to feel the cold breeze passing across my skin as I recalled the memories I had. When we were younger my parents would go with us to play on the park equipment. My mom was always gentle and cautious but not dad. When it came to playing at the park he was constantly reckless and wild, like Sodapop.

One memory stood clear - when dad would spin the merry-go-round. Before the ride began he would make a park wide announcement and kids would flock to the metal toy to claim a spot. I always sat near the edge with my arms and legs wrapped around a bar for security. Dad would look down at Ponyboy and I to say "Scout and Pony, you two little ones be sure to hold on tight". With excited grins plastered to out faces we would increase our grip on the bars as the ride slowly began to spin. My dad would grab those bars in his strong hands and push them away again and again increasing the speed with every turn. I remembered how the force of the spin used to pull me to the edge of the metal platform and my hair and smile stretched away from my face. Life was simpler then when I lived for the spinning and self induced dizziness of the merry-go-round, but that was then – I didn't like spinning anymore.

I briefly sat on the edge of the metal merry-go-round then looked up to notice the sky had grown dark and not an ounce of light was left in the sky. The temperature was dropping quickly and I wanted to get home quickly. I pitter pattered down the dark streets and spooked myself when my mind heard the sound of the Pontiac GTO carrying a carload of socs. I looked behind me and nothing was there. I picked up the pace and could hear the sound of Duke Dobbin's voice begin to echo in my head. The torturing thoughts scared me so bad I took off in a fast run. My feet pounded on the pavement until I past through the front gate to my yard.

In the safety of my own yard I took a few moments to catch my breath and calm down. I knew it was late and against Darry's rules to miss dinner, but I didn't fear his anger as I past through the front door. Somehow I was able to suppress all emotions not directly connected with the extreme loss I felt without my favorite brother.

I walked in and eyed Darry and Soda who were sitting at the table getting ready to eat dinner. Soda grabbed a hold of Darry's arm to remind him to keep quiet. I didn't say anything as I walked through the living room and I sat to join them. I wasn't hungry at all but I figured Darry would only preach if I didn't eat something. I reached over and scooped up about a dozen peas for my plate. I noticed Darry and Sodapop exchange glances then Soda cleared his throat.

"Where'd ya head off to Scout?" Sodapop offered up a grin trying to pretend he was just wanting to start a friendly conversation. I scooped up a tablespoon of mashed potatoes and plopped the tiny portion on my plate. I didn't answer Soda's question so he continued. "Darry and I were worried about you."

I kept my focus on the food and away from the eyes of my brothers. Somewhere in the haze of my mind I did hear Soda's words, but I had no desire to speak, not to anyone, accept Ponyboy.

Soda persevered and drawled out another question. "I heard about your fight at school… Guess that soc had it comin', huh?"

I stabbed one pea with the prong of my fork and slipped it into my mouth. Gingerly I rolled it between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. After a few more seconds I placed it between my molars and squashed it flat. Instantly the taste of the vegetable filled my mouth and I found it hard to swallow, which was weird, because I liked peas.

"Oh come on Scout!" Soda whimpered from across the table. "What's the matter with you any how? Why won't you tell us about what happened today? Why aren't you speaking?" Sodapop leaned forward and looked at me. I didn't look back.

Darry looked over at Sodapop, who had failed to help, then Darry looked my way as a frown crowded his face and he pleaded. "Listen up Scout. We can't afford to be falling apart as a family! Not now. I know you are mad at me for yelling at Pony and all, hell I am mad at me too, but we gotta let it go. It was a mistake and if Ponyboy were here I'd tell him so." Darry looked over and saw me still staring at my plate, contemplating a small bite of mashed potatoes. "Scout you gotta snap out of this!"

In my mind there was nothing to snap out of, Ponyboy was gone and all I wanted was to disappear too. I wanted to be somewhere things didn't always hurt so much, somewhere safe and I remembered where that was. In my room, locked away from the harsh reality of the real world.

I wasn't hungry so I didn't see any need to stay at the table. I picked my plate up and took it to the kitchen. I scrapped the food from my plate into the garbage and began to run a sink full of dishwater. Although I wanted to get away I still realized it was my chore to do the dishes. I threw all of the pots and pans hastily into the hot soapy water. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Darry lean through the kitchen door. This time I looked at him as he pleaded with me, his eyes full of tears.

"Please Scout, you can't just shut us out! I know this is hard but you're tougher than this. All your life you've been a tough little kid." Darry wiped the first batch of tears from his eyes. "Please… listen I'm sorry I yelled at you about the fight at school. I know you wouldn't have done anything unless that boy did something first. All right? Will you please just tell me you're all right?"

I looked down at the soapy water and began to scrub the dishes. I don't think I consciously wanted to ignore my brother, but I did. I would have told him I was all right, if I had been.

Darry stood in the doorway and eyed me ignoring him for a few seconds and then his emotions let loose. The strong powerful man knocked the back of his head against the door jam, clenched his fists then slid his back down the wooden frame and bawled. "Oh God! What have I done… what have I done. I don't want Pony to be gone or dead. I can't lose him too. God please bring him home safe, please…."

Immediately Soda dove to the floor and comforted our brother. "Awe Darry… don't worry, everything's gonna be ok." Soda lied and he knew it because he began to bawl just as hard as Darry.

Darry cried out. "Soda I am so sorry about everything, about Ponyboy, Sandy and Scout…"

Hearing my name made me look down at my miserable siblings. I wondered why I was on Darry's sorry list. What had he done to me? Silently I watched the two of them holding each other and crying. Then as if I was pushed into it I felt the need to let them know somehow that I loved them and I didn't feel this way because of anything they had done. It was society I wanted to get away from, not them. Slowly I moved across the kitchen floor and knelt down. I threw my right arm around Sodapop's neck, my left arm around Darry's neck and gave a slight squeeze. Both of the boys grabbed me back and cried long and hard. I didn't cry I just held them and when they were done I finished my chore and headed off to bed, without a word.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six 

Tuesday morning I woke up on my own and obediently readied myself for school. I wasn't very thankful to Darry for helping to remove my suspension, even though I should have been. I dressed in a skirt, sweater, bobby socks and my loafers which were now too small for my feet because I had grown over the summer. Quietly I wandered through the house and curled up in my mother's chair to wait for my ride to school.

"Hey Scout you're up early." Darry said as he noticed me from the kitchen doorway. He walked out to the living room and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Do you want something to eat?" Respectfully he waited for an answer, but didn't get one. "Still not talking?" I didn't look his way or say a thing so he wandered back to rouse Sodapop out of bed. I stayed in the chair and listened to my brother's work together in the kitchen making breakfast and getting dressed for work.

"Scout say anything to you this morning?" Soda asked as he peeked out the kitchen doorway at me.

"No." Darry frowned and pulled the carton of eggs out of the icebox, "did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah… well I mean a little, I was up thinking about everything most of the night." Soda spoke in a weary voice. "I've been thinking about writing a letter, well two letters actually."

"To who?" Darry asked as he pulled the hot pot of coffee off the stove and filled his cup.

"One to Sandy. I's kind of hoping maybe I could convince her to come back home. Then the other one to Ponyboy." Darry gave our brother a questioning glance. Soda quickly answered the look. "I thought maybe I could give it to Dally and he could take it to Pony next time he goes to see him." Soda pulled his white t-shirt over his head and put his DX shirt on over top. "I think we should keep a close eye on Dally. That way if he slips up and tells where Ponyboy and Johnny are we can go and get them."

"I think those are real good ideas." Darry smiled at his little buddy. "One of us oughtta be with him as often as possible."

The sound of the morning newspaper landing on the porch ended my brother's conversation and startled me from my stare. I stood up and walked out on the porch. Looking down I noticed two familiar yearbook photos, one of Jonathan Cade and the other of Ponyboy Curtis, right there on the front page.

I lifted the paper and unfolded it, holding on to it tightly so it didn't blow away in the strong breeze. While I read I heard Darry and Sodapop come up behind me. Darry read the article over my shoulder while Soda waited his turn. The paper said both boys were wanted for questioning in the murder case of Robert Sheldon. There was information about the Sheldon boy's funeral and that the two men who were in custody earlier had been released and were thought to have no connection to the murder. My thoughts drifted momentarily to Dallas. I couldn't believe how he was able to weasel out of the police station even though he knew all about the crime and it's suspects. When I finished reading the article I handed the paper to Darry and went back inside to grab my schoolbooks. I really didn't want to be in class and face the socs again. The paper all but said my brother was guilty. That's all the general public needed to convict.

Minutes later came back from my room empty handed. I had forgotten that I had left all my books at school when I walked out yesterday. I passed through the kitchen and the smell of Sodapop's ketchup, mustard and pickles on eggs made my stomach sick. Wanting to get far away from the smell I started for the living room but Darry grabbed my arm. Scout you're looking awfully pale this morning. I want you to sit and eat something."

To appease my brother's request I changed direction and sat at the kitchen table. I had no desire to actually eat. Sodapop sat next to me and forced a grin over his eggs. "Are ya gonna talk to me today?" I rested my head in my hand and didn't respond. Sodapop waited out the silence then smiled again. "Ok… maybe later than, huh?"

Darry put a plate of eggs in front of me and filled a small glass with milk. I lowered my head and looked at my breakfast. I let it sit there, untouched while the others ate. Darry looked over from the morning paper he was reading. "Sissy you aren't leaving this table until you've eaten those eggs." Darry eyed the dark circles under my eyes. I didn't lift my fork I was too depressed to eat. My brother put down his paper as his agitation grew. "Come on girl, there's not much there so eat up." I kept my head rested in my hand and ignored the direction. I didn't care if I left the table or not. It wouldn't matter to me if I had to sit in my chair for days.

"Scout! You have got to eat something! You haven't had a thing to eat since Saturday night." Darry took a long look at my unresponsive action then his agitation reached it's peak as and Darry lost his appetite out of frustration with me. "I am out of here." Darry stood up, grabbed his tool belt and rubbed his forehead hard with his right hand in dismay. "I'll see you all tonight for dinner." Then he glanced at me, I don't know what he was thinking. I kept my blue eyes to the floor as Darry stormed out the door for work earlier than usual.

Sodapop looked up from his empty plate. "Sissy why don't you take just one bite?" Soda waited in hope I would do as he suggested. When I failed to move he tried another proposal. "How'bout just a few drinks of milk. It aint gonna kill you…" His words trailed off as he kept from saying, 'not eating or drinking is what's gonna kill ya'.

I looked at the milk and found myself privately debating the requested sip when Soda's voice cut in again. "Look here girl. Darry and I were talking last night and we just don't know what to do about you. We don't mind that you don't want to talk but you need to eat!" Soda paused waiting for a reaction that didn't come. "We're worried you aint gonna get any better and we are gonna have to take you in to see the doctor. Darry would have done so by now but he's scared of what the State would think." Soda leaned a little closer to me wishing I would give him my attention. Tears arrived in his eyes as he grabbed my hand and gently spoke. "Scout you gotta listen to me. Darry says if you don't eat by tomorrow he's gonna take you to the hospital. He's says it's tough love but we gotta do what's right for you. Even if it means losing you to the State." Sodapop wiped his eyes on the shoulder of his work shirt. "Besides, the other alternative is worse."

I sat still as his words began to sink in. Then, in a rare moment, Sodapop grew angry and cried out. "Scout! Do you hear what is happening? Do you know what we are going to have to do? You've gotta eat something!" Not one ounce of emotion or response left me body. Out of extreme frustration Soda huffed away from the table leaving his words to echo through my random thoughts.

Without fuss I rode to school with Steve and Two-Bit after we dropped Soda off at work. When we arrived my friends insisted on walking with me to my locker. Two-Bit put it this way, "if there's gonna need to be a fight, I'm gonna do the fighting." Today their protection wasn't needed. There wasn't a soc left in the building. All of them were gone for the day, gone to the funeral of their friend, the bully who tried to kill my brother.

I spent my class time daydreaming about things that had no relevance to what the teachers were saying. For lunch I hid out in the aisles of the library pretending to be checking out books, then at the end of the day I walked to the parking lot to find my ride home. In the back of Steve's car I wondered how many people would have gone to Ponyboy's funeral if Bob had drown him. I wondered who would have cared for Johnny knowing he had to pull his dead friend from the chilly water of the fountain. I concluded there weren't many people in that school would have cared if something bad had happened to 'my kind'.

In the afternoon Steve didn't drop me off at my house like he usually did. Instead I had to ride with to the DX station. Two-Bit went there to loiter and Steve to work his shift. The way Soda bounded out of the station and had a quick, private conversation with Steve I was sure my brother had given his friends strict orders not to leave me alone anywhere. I climbed out of the backseat of the car and started to walk home when Sodapop called me back.

"Uh uh Sissy! You aint going no where without me and I have a few hours left of work."

I thought about pretending I didn't hear him, but I knew he or Steve or Two-Bit would have just tracked me down and dragged me back. Without a fuss I swung my body back around and headed toward the station. Looking ahead I noticed my brother's gorgeous wide smile spread across his face. Just having me listen to him was so much more than I had done in the past day. Soda was so excited he jogged up to me, wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the head. "That's my girl."

Usually if I had to be at the DX station after school I would have worked on my homework. Unfortunately in my absent minded state I didn't remember to bring home my knapsack. So I spent the time in the service station sitting on the counter and watching Sodapop and Steve work. They were a great team. One would fill gas while the other would wash the car windows and take the money. Often the two would flirt with the young ladies, they were both good at that. When Sodapop's shift ended, as if planned, Darry pulled up in his truck and took us home so we didn't need to walk.

On the ride home Darry and Soda talked about how work was. Following that conversation I noticed Darry motion towards me. Soda didn't speak discretely as he told our brother that I still hadn't spoken. "…but I told her not to walk off from the DX station and she listened!" Each of us were exhausted as we arrived home. Quietly Darry climbed out of the driver's side of the truck and Soda had to push me out the passenger's door. Fearing I would wander off he took a hold of my hand and pulled me along behind him. When we walk through the gate Darry looked up at the house to find Kathryn standing on the front porch. She looked worried as she jabbered. "Darry… hi…I had a friend drop me off after class, I hope you don't mind."

Darry looked at her soft face and a smile pierced his lips. "No, no problem…it's good to see you."

Kathryn looked at me and Soda. "Hi Sodapop, Scout, how are you two doing?"

"We're good." Soda casually answered for us both. He was still holding tightly to my hand, but his face had an ill look to it.

"That's good." Kathryn forced a smile and turned back to Darry. "I read about Ponyboy today in the paper, I…I don't know what I can do, but I wish I could help."

Darry looked down at the beautiful girl and smiled nervously because he knew how rapidly his emotions were welling up inside. "I'm glad you're here. I sure could use someone to talk to…" Darry's words trailed off as he sniffled and a tear rolled down his cheek.

Kathryn wiped the tear with her thumb and whispered. "Oh Darry. It's going to be ok… I'll take care of you." She lovingly held my brother's face in her delicate hands. "Why don't you sit down and we'll talk. I could make some coffee or something."

Darry shook his head no then wiped his eyes. "Why don't we go talk in my room." Kathryn easily agreed and she seemed to understand Darry's need to talk privately with another adult. She grabbed his hand and the two of them disappeared into the house and behind my parent's old bedroom door.

Sodapop pulled me along into the house then turned to shut the front door. Our eyes met and he began to cry. I could tell that seeing Kathryn and Darry together made him miss Sandy awfully bad. My memory recalled how he told her he loved her and now she was gone, right along with Ponyboy and I guess a little of me as well. I squeezed the hand that my brother was still holding onto. Immediately Soda tried to toughen up. He sniffled hard and wiped his eyes free of sorrow, "I guess I better go get dinner started." Instead of helping Sodapop cook I disappeared to my room in despair. I curled up in bed and from time to time I could hear Darry's sorrow as the sound of him crying in Kathryn's arms seeped through the walls.

In the darkness of my bedroom I heard a soft knock on the door. Without waiting to be allowed to enter the door pushed open and the light from the hallway flooded my refuge. Kathryn slowly entered my room and softly she tried to begin conversation. "They say when it rains it pours, huh Scout?" I didn't answer, but I don't think Kathryn really expected me to. "I am so sorry to hear about Ponyboy. Add that to poor Soda getting his heart broke and your horrible experience a few weeks ago and nothing seems worthwhile, does it?" Kathryn took a moment to look around my room and then she walked over to sit next to me on my bed. "I hear you're not talking anymore. Darry said something happened at school?" She paused for a so I could respond, which I didn't. "I wondering if maybe you would want to talk to me, you know, girl talk." I looked at her sweet smile and considered speaking and making things better, but I didn't. Kathryn sighed. "I guess it's ok if you don't want to talk, but you have to eat. Darry told me he didn't think you have had a meal since Saturday night." Kathryn reached up and pushed the hair back behind my ear like my mother used to. I remembered how she had done that the same way the first time she came to our house to help me with the custody judge. "Why don't you come out to dinner with us? I know it will mean a lot to your brothers." I took a hold of Kathryn's out stretched hand and walked with her to the dinning room.

Darry smiled and stood up as we sat down. "Well did you girls find anything to talk about?"

"Nope, but she did come out here with me without a fuss." Kathryn said as Darry filled her plate for her then filled mine with just a small amount of everything.

"Hey Sissy." Sodapop said with a smile as I sat down across from him.

I didn't answer back as I looked at my plate and realized everyone was watching me. Inside my stomach turned queasy and I felt guilty for thinking about eating, what about Ponyboy? Did he have anything to eat? I physically tried to shake the thought from my head then I pushed the plate away. Darry's impatience and concern turned to anger as he slammed his fists onto the table making the china and silverware jump. "What is wrong with you?"

Kathryn and Sodapop's eyes widened and Kathryn scolded my brother. "Darry, yelling is not going to help!"

My oldest brother ignored his friend's opinion and pleaded. "This is ridiculous! Do you want to end up in the hospital? Do you realize that may mean you could be taken away? Placed in a home for girls?" Darry stared at me with utter confusion and desperation. "You have got to tell someone what is wrong with you so we can help!"

"I don't remember …" My voice was barely audible.

Darry was taken back that his tantrum has broke me of my silence. "What?"

Everyone in the room held their breath to listen. "… I don't … I don't remember what her voice sounded like…." I sat in my chair and began to cry.

Kathryn leaned toward me. "Whose voice?"

"My mother's… I have photographs and can remember the way she looked and smiled but her voice is fading. I don't remember how she sounded when she laughed or called my name."

Soda looked across the table at me as tears streamed down his face. "She sounded like you Scout, real soft and sweet." Darry shook his head and agreed with him.

"I'm so scared that if we never see Pony again I'll forget him too." I cried harder. "…I… I can't be without him… I can't bear the thought of forgetting him too!"

Darry lunged toward me, swept me into his arms and cried. "We'll find him Scout. He's gonna come back." I cried even harder because I knew Darry's words were just wishful thinking. I also knew that I had to do my part to help the family. Darry couldn't bear to lose another sibling and I didn't want to be any more trouble. I had to eat even if I didn't want to. When I calmed down I pushed away from Darry and pulled my plate back in front of me.

Through tears I choked down the small amount of food in front of me while Darry, Kathryn and Sodapop dried their eyes and joined me. After I cleared my plate my stomach felt sick. I told Darry I wasn't feeling well, I excused myself from the table and crawled into bed for the night. Before Kathryn left she checked up on me, pushed my hair behind my ear again and told me how proud she and my brothers were of me. With a kiss to my forehead she left, pulling the door almost shut. I pulled out an item I had stashed underneath my pillow, Ponyboy's cut off sweatshirt. I bundled it up in my arms and held tightly to it in an attempt to be close to him. Then I cried myself to sleep, just like everyone else in the house


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven 

Wednesday morning I woke up just as the sun was rising into the sky. I curled up in my blankets, rested my head on the windowsill and watched a tiny piece of the sun appear above the roofs of the houses. It was early and I couldn't sleep. This morning I felt worse then ever without my brother.

I laid down on my back and stared at the ceiling. I didn't want to get up or go to school because I knew the socs would be back. All I wanted was to stay in my bed and hide under the covers. Even though I had broken my silence I was still feeling the same anger and helplessness that I had felt following my parent's deaths, only difference was I didn't know if Ponyboy was dead. Somewhere in my head I started to wonder if he was, but in my gut I knew he wasn't. I decided to trust my gut instinct, pulled myself out of bed and wandered to the bathroom.

I shuffled my weary feet through the dining room and noticed a figure on the couch. I stopped and looked over at the boy sleeping there, Dallas Winston! I bit my lower lip and evil thoughts crossed through my mind as my anger level shot up. I stormed over to the young man and slapped him as hard as I could across his face and yelled. "Tell me where my brother is!" Instinctively Dally woke up and threw me to the floor. I caught myself with my elbows and sat forward just enough to throw a weak punch to Dally's face. "You know where he is you son of a bitch! Tell me!" I tried to claw at him but Dallas grabbed both of my wrists and pinned me to the floor. He laid on my chest so I couldn't kick him. I struggled to get free as he growled.

"I don't know nothin' Scout so just back off!"

"Liar!" I screamed and Darry came rushing out of his room.

"What the hell is going on?" Darry yelled as he saw Dally and I in a compromising position.

"He lies Darry! He knows everything and he won't tell us nothing!" I screamed and continued attempt to wiggle free.

Darry grabbed Dallas' arm and yanked him off of me. "Let her go Dally…" When Dallas Winston was on his feet Darry pointed to me. "…and you leave him alone." I sat up and I watched as Darry and Dallas' eyes met. I hoped for a fight. I wanted Darry to punish Dally for hiding my brother, but he didn't. Darry had more sense then that. He knew what I was failing to accept. Dally was the only connection we had to Ponyboy and if we pissed Dallas off he would just leave and never come back. He'd just leave and take his little secret with him. Darry reached his hand to me. "You ok Sissy?"

"Is she ok?" Dally barked and rubbed his cheek. "I'm the one who got cocked in the face!" Dallas peered over at me with his cold cocky stare. I glared back and realized when it came to understanding how I felt he was in foreign territory. Dallas Winston knew nothing about love, he had no idea what it felt like to be needed by someone or to be missed. He knew nothing about it because he had never been loved or missed.

"Shut up Dally." Darry said as he hoisted me from the floor.

Angered that my brother wasn't going to beat the answer out of Dally. I stormed to the rear of the house past Sodapop, who was awoken by my yelling. Darry followed me. Halfway down the hall I turned back to my brother and cried out. "Why don't you just make him tell you were they are?"

Sodapop joined Darry's side, pulling on his blue jeans as Darry glared down at me. "Just how'd you suppose I do that? Dally aint gonna tell us nothin' if he don't wanna. You know that!"

I threw my head back a little and wished Darry could just beat the truth out of Dallas. The way I figured it he might as well try cause if he killed Dally know one would care anyway. "This is all just stupid!" I screamed out. "He aint Dally's brother to hide, he's ours!" I looked at my brothers' eyes and realized the helplessness in their stares. I needed to get out of the house. I stormed out of the house through the back door. If I saw Dallas at that moment I might use any thing I could get my hands on to beat him up and make him tell us where the boys were hiding. I knew if I was as strong as Darry I sure would.

Pacing around in the grass gave me a little time to cool down as the sun lit up the morning sky. I walked to the front yard and yelled at God in my head. 'All I wanted was a normal life! I don't need a great house or a tuff car. Just my family and all you keep doing is taking them away from me! One by one you are making me suffer and I don't' know why!' I grabbed the cold steel of the top bar of the chain link fence and laid my forehead on the metal and whimpered. "I don't know why?"

"What don't you know?" A kind voice made me jump.

I picked my head up and recognized the face staring at me with concern. "Two-Bit!" I yelled at him for scaring me and felt as if he may have heard my inner thoughts. "Just go away would you?"

Two-Bit's face showed a look of confusion as he tried to figure out why I was outside upset. He looked to Steve who was climbing the porch steps and then back to me. "Fine… if that's what you want." He paused, waiting for me to change my mind, and then he headed toward the house to get the story from my brothers. Before entering he smiled at me, "it's good to hear your voice."

Once my friend disappeared in side I grabbed the fence out of frustration and shook it violently. I wondered what Two-Bit would have said and if he truly cared what was bothering me, even though in my heart I knew he did. Now I was angry at God and myself for being mean to someone who just wanted to help. Frustrated I rubbed my face with my hands and angrily went back into the house through the front door.

"You ok?" Darry asked above the idle conversation from the boys in the living room.

"No I'm not ok!" I screamed and began to shed tears of pain. "I am not going to be ok without Ponyboy! Do you understand that? I'm not ok…" My yelling grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. "They were going to drown him and kill him! He's my brother! He… he shares a part of my soul! You all can't possibly understand what that feels like to have part of your soul ripped away from you? He's been with me my whole life and he's gone now! Have you any idea how painful that is… do you?" I looked at the gang staring at me with dropped faces. Dallas shifted his weight uneasily and looked away. I listened to my words and realized at least my brothers did know what it was like to lose part of their soul. Darry had certainly lost a big part when dad died and Sodapop had his heart torn apart just days ago. I wiped my nose on my sleeve and sniffled. "I'm sorry I yelled… ok? I … I just … I'm going to my room." I tried to walk past my teary eyed brothers.

"Don't run off!" Darry cried out and grabbed a hold of my arm. "Everyone in this family has got to quit running off!" My oldest brother tried to control his emotions in front of the gang, but couldn't. "… just stay here, we're a family… we've got to stick together." Darry let go of my arm and sat back on the edge of the dining room table rubbing his teary eyes with the heel of his hand.

I glanced at the gang, their mouths slightly open and their eyes wide. It's not that anyone thought Darry was incapable of crying, they just never thought they would be witness to it. Angry that my brother had to be seen as weak I tried in vain to defend him. "And you all know what's worse? Dally knows exactly where Pony and Johnny are but he is too much of a jerk to tell anyone the truth!" I flashed an angry glare at Dally who had his hands coolly stashed in the pockets of his jean jacket. He returned the glare but knew better to further upset anyone in the house by retaliating.

"I'm outta here." Dally announced and turned to leave. I was glad to see him go but Soda panicked.

"No Dally wait!" Soda was dressed in just his jeans as he walked toward his friend. "Darry'll give you a ride where ever you need to go… and… and… we want you to come over tonight for dinner, don't we Darry?"

My brothers exchanged a look confirming they were both ready to follow Sodapop's make shift plan. Darry inhaled his emotions and cleared his throat. "Yeah, we do. How bout I pick you up from Buck's place at about 6:30?"

Dallas shifted his eyes between me, Darry and Soda trying to figure out the scheme. He didn't fully trust what was going on, but he like the idea of a free home cooked meal. "Ok, I'll be there." Dallas turned and walked out the door. Immediately Sodapop pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and darted out the front door after Dally.

I looked to Darry who raised his hand to stop any comments from me. "Not a word about it Scout. I'll let you do whatever you want today as long as you just play nice."

I thought about the offer then tested my brother. "Fine, I don't want to go to school."

Darry looked at me with disappointment. Then added to the deal. "That's fine, but I want you to eat something for breakfast and lunch. Plus, you're cooking beef stew for Dallas tonight, it's his favorite." I lifted my eyes to the ceiling in disgust. Before Darry could tell me to keep my attitude to myself Two-Bit sang out.

"Well if Scout aint going to school I'm just gonna stay here with her."

"Good!" Steve further lightened the tension in the room. "Without you two deadbeats to drive around I'll be able to take Evie to the Dingo before work."

Darry smiled and called to everyone as Soda returned to the gang. "Come on ya'll I'll cut up the cake in the ice box for breakfast."

Darry dished out five plates full of cake, but I turned mine down and opted to eat a piece of toast instead. Everyone pulled their chairs around the dining room table and Steve rubbed his thumb through the frosting on Soda's piece of cake. Sodapop yelled out and tried to retrieve his icing but was unsuccessful as Steve shoved his thumb into his mouth and laughed.

Suddenly Steve recalled some information he wanted to share and he spoke with his mouth still full of frosting. "Did Dally tell ya'll about the rumble?" Sodapop and Darry shook their heads no because their mouths were full of food, so Steve continued. "Dally, Two-Bit and I were at the Dingo last night with Tim Sheppard and his boys when two carloads of socs pulled up and started yelling at us from their car windows. Couple of'em were declaring war against the greasers. Well you know Tim Sheppard pretty well… he aint scared of no soc so he walked right up them bastards. Right away the passenger in the Ford flips a blade out, like that's gonna Scare Sheppard, so the socs say they wanna rumble." Steve shoved more of his breakfast into his mouth and disregarded all manners. "Tim tells'em Saturday night we'll take them in the vacant lot, winner takes all."

Two-bit could no longer contain his enthusiasm that was building. "Awe man! I can't wait. We are kick them from here to Mexico."

As soon as Steve left for school and my brother's left for work I disappeared to my room and crawled back into bed. I held Pony's sweatshirt in my hands then heard the floor boards in the hall squeak, warning of an approaching visitor. Quickly I stashed the sweatshirt under my bed just as Two-Bit pushed the bedroom door open.

"What are ya doing? You better not be planning on spending the day in bed, cause I don't wanna."

"No one said you had to." I shot back half wishing he would leave and half wishing he would stay. "Just go home."

The comment brought a smile to Two-Bit's face, he liked a challenge. "Nah uh, I told Darry I would hang out with you so move over!" Two-Bit crossed the room and climbed into the narrow bed with me. At first I didn't make room for him so he wiggled and pushed till he had me pinned against the wall. "Ah that's better." He laughed and kicked off his tennis shoes.

"Two-Bit would you just go away?" I rolled over and looked into his gray-green eyes. "I just want to be left alone."

Two-Bit shook his head. "That's not a good idea. I've seen what happens when you spend too much time alone." Two-Bit repositioned the pillow under his head. "Since your talking and all why don't you tell me about that fight you got in to at school?"

I rolled my eyes at the memory. "It was no big thing."

"Oh yeah? Then why did you stop talking to everyone?"

"Cause talking don't do no good. Principal Leary didn't listen to a word I said. He kept saying I provoked the fight, but I didn't."

Two-Bit agreed with me. "I aint never known you to start no fight… unless it was with your brothers."

Hearing the word 'brothers' made me sad as I thought of Ponyboy. "Do you think we are ever gonna see Pony and Johnny again?"

"Shoot yeah!" Two-Bit said positively. "Once things have cooled off Dally'll go get them boys. I know you don't believe it but Dally does care. He's just trying to do what's best for'em."

I popped up on my elbow and looked down at Two-Bit. "No he aint. Cause what's best for them is being home with their family!"

"You really think that's what's best for Johnny? Comin' home would be best for Ponyboy, but …" Two-Bit looked into my blue eyes. "maybe this is what's best for Johnnycakes? Did you ever stop to think him, other than yourself?"

A sense of guilt filled my body as I realized how intuitive Two-Bit was. Once again he was right. For the past three days I had only been thinking of myself, and what I needed and what I wanted. I had never once considered what was best for Johnny. The boy was wanted for murder and all I wanted was for him and Ponyboy to come home and turn themselves in. I figured if they were home everything would be normal again. Truth was it wasn't ever going to be the way it was. I laid my head back down on my pillow. "Two-Bit? You are a very wise man." We shared a smile and my friend blushed. "How can someone as wise as you be such a slacker in life?"

Two-Bit laughed. "I just aint much for studying life from a book when I can be livin it."

I let out an aspirated laugh and yawned. "Get out of here, I'm going back to bed."

"Nah, I'm staying here so you don't have to be alone." Two-Bit and I stayed laying together face to face until our eyelids grew heavy and we drifted off to sleep.

Hours later I felt my body entangled in the young man's arms. I stayed still because I could tell by his breathing that he was asleep. I even found the embrace to be comforting and soothing, I appreciated those emotions.

Moments later Two-Bit stirred and I rolled over to face him. Our eyes met and the two of us felt the same emotional pull toward each other. Silently he reached over and gently caressed my face with his fingers. His touch moved along my jaw line and his thumb hooked my under my chin. Tenderly he pulled my face close to his as he moved to meet me. Together we closed our eyes, felt each other's warm breath and shared a soft kiss. Immediately everything felt perfect in my world. When we parted I caught my breath. "I didn't expect you to kiss me."

Two-Bit smiled. "I didn't expect you to kiss me back."

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing this?" I whispered.

"Maybe we shouldn't." Two-Bit concluded but neither of us listened as we moved together a second time and shared a longer kiss. Passionately Two-Bit reached his arms under me and rolled over to pin me beneath him. I reached up and caressed his face with one hand and rubbed the other on his smooth muscular arm that showed because he was wearing a gray cut off t-shirt. The two of us breathed in unison as we kissed again, long and deep.

I felt a wave of jitterbugs flutter through my body as the young man pierced his lip and we shared a French kiss. My mind and body welcomed the pleasant touch and yearned for more. Unfortunately the phone in the living room began to ring and I feared Two-Bit would cease his physical affection toward me, but he didn't. As if he didn't hear the ringing he ran his hand up the side of my body and caressed my clothed breast. My body lurched at the touch and the phone rang again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

I tried to ignore the sound of the ringing telephone and stay engulfed in the moment, but the thought of Ponyboy calling home passed through my mind. The phone rang again and I sat up straight in bed. Not sure of exactly where I was I looked over to my left side to find Two-Bit asleep in my side. The romance was all a dream.

I scampered over top of him and ran to the living room. The phone rang one more time before I lifted the receiver. "Hello?" No one responded. "Hello?" This time I stayed silent and listened for any response or noise to tell me who had called. Nothing, then the line went dead as the caller hung up. I held the receiver and worried about who the caller may have been. Was is Duke Dobbins out of jail and hoping to find me home alone? Was it a group of socs looking to harass my family or was it Ponyboy? Was he in so much trouble that he couldn't even speak to us?

"Who was that?" Two-Bit's voice startled me and I spun around to face him. He walked toward me combing back his greasy hair that had been messed up by sleep. "Anyone I know?"

I looked at the received clutched tightly in my hand. "Uh… no… no one was on the line." I said and felt my face getting flush as I recalled the dream. For a moment I worried he had known my inner thoughts and I swallowed hard hoping I hadn't talked in my sleep.

"You better get busy making the beef stew if it's gonna be ready in time for dinner." He said and I hung up the receiver and looked at the clock, it was almost 3 o'clock!

"Oh goodness, we sure must have been tired." I said as I headed to the kitchen and began dinner. I pulled the potatoes and carrots out of the pantry.

"Want me to help you out?" Two-Bit wandered in behind me.

"Sure, why don't you start by peeling the potatoes?" Two-Bit was never one to complain in the kitchen. Many times my mother had assigned him to help cook dinner whenever he wanted to eat at our house. Peeling the potatoes and carrots was his specialty.

Uneasily I began a conversation. "Um … maybe we shouldn't tell my brother's about us napping together. They might get the wrong idea."

Two-Bit's whole body bounced with laughter. "Come on… doesn't Soda sleep in the same bed with Ponyboy?" His voice grew more serious just for fun and he sighed. "Alright, I won't tell no one."

I stopped cutting the meat into cubes and looked at Two-Bit who didn't care who knew about our nap. To him it was just sleep. "You're gonna tell'em, aren't you?"

The greaser grinned, "I aint makin no promises." In one quick move he flipped open his switchblade and diced a potato. I closed my eyes and shook my head in disbelief, Two-Bit sure was a character!

The meat and vegetables were in the pot when the phone rang again. I walked out and picked up the phone. "Hello?" Again no answer, so I held my breath to listen. I didn't hear anything other than the click of the line being disconnected. Hesitantly I hung up the receiver and walked back into the kitchen.

"Another hang up?" Two-Bit asked then pulled open the door to the refrigerator.

I looked out the window at Casey's old house and answered quietly. "yeah… no one was there." I wanted to ask Two-Bit who he thought it was but his mind was on other things.

"What no beer?" He yelled out and slammed the refrigerator door shut. "That just won't do! I'm going to the store to get some."

I looked to the boy and the fear of being alone flooded my mind. "Why do you have to go now to get the beer…? I mean couldn't you just wait and drive to the store after Soda gets home?"

Two-Bit cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't I tell you my car aint working?" I shook my head no and Two-Bit's voice roared with laughter. "Oh Scout you should have been there. Me and this blond Kathy were cruisin' Harrison Boulevard. She was sitting by my side having a fine time when all of a sudden I couldn't stop." Two-Bit took a moment to laugh at his memory. "So I yell, look out baby we got no brakes! Well she screams and practically jumps into my lap then I can't see. I end up running the red light, popped my car up on the curb and it hit a parking meter."

"You hit a parking meter?" Two-Bit shook his head in confirmation. I looked back at him in astonishment. "What did the cops say when they got there?"

With a sly grin he spoke again. "No one called the fuzz. After me and some of the Brumly boys picked up all the coins that spilled on the ground we pushed the car about five blocks away." Two-Bit winked. "Best part is I got half the money to fix the brakes from the sidewalk!"

I shook my head in concern. "Keith Matthews you are going to end up in prison!"

Two-Bit laughed and pulled on his leather jacket. "Nah, I'm too smooth to ever get caught!" He turned toward the front door and yelled. "See you in an hour or so!" With that he was out the door and gone. I laughed at the character then noticed the silence in the house. I needed something to do to distract me from the disturbing phone calls so I let the stew simmer and set the table for six. My heart ached as I wished I could have set it for two more.

The phone rang again. This time I looked behind me first and glanced out the windows. Slowly I walked through the house to the living room as the bell sounds rang loudly. I picked up the phone and paused before speaking. "Hello?" I held my breath and waited for a response that didn't come. "Who is this?" I yelled. "Ponyboy is this you?" I asked and an eerie voiced growled low.

"Noooo."

Startled, I slammed the phone down and looked behind me a second time. My heart began to race as I sprinted down the hall to my room. I had planned to hide in my closet until Darry came home but the shotgun sound of a car backfiring reminded me of Duke Dobbins. Terrified I slipped on my tennis shoes, tied them tight and bolted out the front door. I could feel my pulse throbbing in my head as I ran full speed through the vacant lot. Soon my breath began to draw heavy and I was forced to slow down a bit. I passed through the park staying far away from the fountain. Breathlessly I crossed the street and headed down the street in the direction of the DX gas station.

My feet dragged from exhaustion then my ear noticed the rumble of a tuff car. Cautiously I turned to look behind me and noticed a white and turquoise Chevy Bel-Aire stopped in the intersection at the end of the street. Inside the car sat a handful of socs. Inside my head was complete terror that I was their next target of aggression. Adrenaline from my fear shot through my body and without looking back I sprinted the final few blocks the DX station.

Steve watched the customer pull away from the gas pumps then spotted me running up the street. He could tell that something was wrong. "Sodapop!" Steve yelled then looked to be sure his friend had heard him.

Soda had heard him and seen me. My brother sprinted across the DX parking lot. I darted across the street towards him and he grabbed me to stop my momentum. "Scout! Scout what's wrong? Are you ok? " His questions rolled out as I stood trying to catch my breath. "What happened?"

"We … we …" I stood up and looked around for the socs. "…should go inside… where… where it's safe." Steve and Soda followed my visual trail but didn't see what was bothering me. I yanked repeatedly on Sodapop's shirt sleeve trying to pull him into the station. "Come on." I pleaded with him and with one last look he and Steve followed me in.

"What's the matter Sissy?" Soda asked again as I rounded the corner of the service counter. I worriedly looked out the window then sat behind the counter, on the floor in the corner. I pulled my knees up to my chest and held them tight to my body for security. Steve leaned across the counter staring down at me with concern. Sodapop knelt before me and grabbed both of my shoulders to calm my trembling. "It's ok now Sissy! Just tell me what happened."

I looked up at my brother. "Someone was calling the house and when I would answer they didn't say anything, they'd just stay quiet and then hang up. After a few calls I finally asked if it was Ponyboy and an angry voice groaned 'no'." I looked up with tears of shame brewing in my eyes. "Soda I was so scared, I didn't want to stay home alone. What if it was Duke Dobbins? What if he is out of jail and looking for me?"

"He aint out Scout," Soda tried to comfort me, "Darry said they gotta tell us if he got out."

"What if they forgot?" I sniffled and wiped my eyes on my blue jean covered knees.

"They didn't!" Soda said then tried to believe himself. Outside a customer's car rolled across the air hose and rang the bell inside the station.

The sound startled me. "Who is it?" My eyes were wide with concern.

Soda looked up at Steve who was looking out the window before he looked back at my brother. "It's Darry." Soda stood up and checked to be sure Steve was right. It was a little early for Darry to be off work. Sodapop grabbed my hand. He pulled hard and forced me to stand. "Come on Sissy."

For a short second I refused to stand, but Soda's persistence in pulling changed my mind and we followed Steve out of the station.

"Hey Steve!" Darry said as he walked to the back of his truck. "Hey there little buddy…" Our brother caught his eye on me trailing Sodapop and smiled. "Scout what are you doing here?"

Sodapop spoke up for me, minimizing my fear. "She was getting some prank phone calls at home and she got a little spooked."

"What kind of prank calls?" Darry's frown mimicked my own.

"Someone kept calling and wouldn't speak when I answered. On the third or fourth call I asked if it was Ponyboy and this deep voice on the other line said no." I stood close to Sodapop and shivered. "What if it was Duke? What if he is out?"

Darry walked over and squeezed my shoulder with his strong hand. "It isn't Duke. He didn't get out."

"What if he did?" I argued and interrupted. "What if he got out and they forgot to call?" I looked up with my pleading blue eyes.

Darry cracked a quick smile to help sooth my nerves. "Tell you what. Let's go inside the station and I'll call the jail and ask." I shook my head in agreement and the four of us walked inside.

Soda looked over at our brother. "What are you doing off work early?"

Darry shrugged and rubbed the back of my head with his hand. "There wasn't enough work for everyone so I decided to take off early." Darry looked through the phone directory for the number to the county jail, then placed the call. I listened to Darry's half of the conversation trying to figure out what was being said on the other end. After answering a lot of questions and a long wait Darry was able to confirm that Mr. Dobbins was still locked up in jail. My brother hung up the phone and looked down at me. "That oughtta make you feel better, right?"

I looked up. "Then who was making the calls?"

Darry shook his head. "I don't know Scout, it could have been anyone just messing around or trying to scare us. Don't let it bother you." Darry paused, "I thought Two-Bit was with you."

I looked away hoping the boys wouldn't read my embarrassment about napping with Two-Bit and dreaming about the kiss. "He was there for most of the day, but he left awhile ago to get some beer money from his mom and go to the store."

Darry looked out the station window at his truck then turned to me. "Listen Sissy, I called Dally and he said he's ready for me to come and get him so hop in the truck, you're going with me." Darry looked over to Sodapop. "Little buddy you got five bucks in your pocket for gas?"

Soda half frown and half smiled. "Nah, I gave fifty bucks to Dally this morning to give to Ponyboy if he sees him." Darry didn't care that Soda had handed over so much money to Dallas. Instead he opened his wallet and handed a five dollar bill over to Soda for the gas. I climbed into the passenger's side of the truck. Soda pumped the gas and Steve cleaned the windows. When the boys were finished Darry said "we'll see you at home," and we pulled away from the station. I felt safe next to Darry in the truck, but I was not happy to have to go with to pick up Dallas Winston.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"He aint riding in the cab of this truck with us." I sassed to Darry and kept my gaze out the half open window of the passenger door. "He can ride in the back by himself." Darry ignored my comment as he pulled up outside of Buck's place. I made a fist and pushed down the lock knob on the truck door.

Laughing, Darry reached across my body to pull the lock knob up with two fingers. I let out a loud sigh of annoyance as Dallas pulled open the truck door. I scooted across the vinyl seat closer to Darry. I tried to ignore Dally by staring straight ahead out the windshield.

"Darry thanks for comin' to get me." Dally said then looked at me with a smile as I tried to stay far away from him in the crowded cab. "So how'bout it Scout? You and I gonna have another go at it?" Dally made a set of playful fists and lightly punched the air. Darry laughed but I didn't. Instead I worked hard at keeping an angry silence.

Dallas shifted his weight and put his arm up along the back of the seat. "Listen, I just wanted you to know that out of all the little sisters you're my favorite and you've always been. Savvy?" He looked out the window then back at me.

I looked toward Dally and caught his eyes with mine. Nervously he bit his lip, blinked and turned his vision to the scenery outside. "Those two'll come back when they're ready, they're probably just scared." Darry and I sat quiet hoping Dally would ramble on and tell us where Ponyboy was. "Don't worry about Ponyboy so much. He's a tough kid, I'm sure he's fine."

"Oh yeah he's tough alright." I sarcastically disagreed. "He's so tough the socs nearly cut his head off in the alley when they jumped him after that movie. He's so tough he just about drown in the fountain at the park. He's so tough…" Darry elbowed me hard in the ribs to interrupted my ranting. I respected his decision for me to hush even though I didn't agree with it.

Dally looked back at me, his brown eyes showed concern and he was anxious to change the subject of conversation. "Hey Darry, turn down this alley." Dallas pointed to a road that ran between the houses in the neighborhood near the grocery store. "I heard the kid who Sylvia was two-timing me with lives somewhere round here." Darry took the turn and the truck bumped its way down the alley leading us to the rear end of the Chevy Bel-Aire I had seen earlier. I took in a shaky breath and worried as a few dozen feet away an angry pack of socs were huddled around a greaser yelling and looking to skin him.

Darry slammed on the brakes and the worn truck tires skidded on the loose gravel. The three of us reached forward to the dashboard to stop our forward momentum. Looking out the window we noticed the greaser was Two-Bit. He was backed up against a worn white picket fence guarding a dozen bottles of beer and holding the socs at bay with his cherished black handled switchblade.

On instinct Darry and Dallas jumped out of the truck and headed to the heart of the confrontation. Inside the truck I pulled the doors shut and locked them because I knew what the socs were capable of. From the safety of the truck I watched as Dally grabbed a soc and quickly worked him over with three quick punches. Darry pulled a second soc close and threatened to beat him within an inch of his life if he and his friends didn't get the hell out of there. Off to the side, and out of harm's way, I could hear and see Two-Bit bent over in laughter as the socs gathered their wounded and scrambled back into their fancy car. Before the Bel-Aire pulled away a few cocky boys yelled that they'd be back to teach us all a lesson at the rumble.

Two-Bit pushed his switchblade back into his pocket, reached down and scooped his two six-packs of beer from the alleyway. "Thanks for stopping by!" He joked with Darry and Dally as the trio walked back to the truck.

"You looked like you were holding your own." Darry commented and slapped his friend on the back.

"Yeah I was, but if you hadn't come by I may have been stuck dancing with those fairies all night." Two-Bit put the bottles in the box of the truck. "And then my beer would have been warm." Two-Bit looked into the truck window and grinned at me before he jumped into the box of the truck with Dally following behind him.

Darry reached through the half open truck window to unlock the driver's side door. He climbed back in and leaned toward me. "We're going to go back to the DX station to be sure Soda has a ride home. I don't want him walking with all the trouble in the neighborhood." After speaking with Darry, Sodapop decided cut out of work a few minutes early for the ride.

Darry pulled the truck up to the curb, I got out and headed up the front porch steps. Just as I passed through the door the telephone started ringing. The shrill sound of the bell caused me to freeze and Darry walked into me pushing my body forward and nearly tripping himself.

"Scout!" Darry barked, "keep it moving would ya?"

I stepped to my left and the phone rang again. At that moment Darry realized why I was hesitant. He reached down and picked up the receiver as Soda, Two-Bit and Dally crowded into the living room. "Hello." Darry said, rather than asked. There was a familiar pause followed by another greeting from my brother. "Hello?" Darry waved his hand trying to tell the other boys to be quiet. No one answered so he issued a violent threat, the line went dead.

Immediately my heart rate began to accelerate and I looked to Darry's eyes for answers. "Who do you think it was?"

Darry placed the receiver back onto the base. "I don't know Sis, probably just some kids trying to spook us or something."

"Well they're doing a fine job of it!" I yelled out.

Without warning Sodapop wrapped his arms around me and playfully tackled me to the ground. "Oh come on Sissy! You're a tough girl you can take'em!" Soda punched me softly with a few left hooks then pinned me to the floor. I couldn't help but laugh and Two-Bit couldn't help but join in. He dove to his knees and banged his hand on the floor.

"One … two … three!" Two-Bit grabbed Soda's arm and proclaimed him the champion by knock out.

Darry congratulated his little buddy before stepping over the three of us. "Come on ya'll dinner smells good, let's eat!"

Shortly after dinner Darry had to leave for his nightshift at the railroad and the boys decided to wander down to the vacant lot. I wasn't interested in going to the lot, but I was even less interested in being in the house at night by myself. I ran to my room, grabbed a sweater, put on my shoes and met up with the boys in the kitchen. Two-Bit gathered his two packs of beers to take along. To lighten his friend's load Dally pulled out a bottle of beer and opened it for himself.

Tim Sheppard and his outfit were already hanging out when we arrived. With the firelight from the two piles of burning wood I recognized the Weston brothers and my eye caught a couple in the shadows. The two were lying in the grass making out when Dally strolled over and kicked the boy in the ribs.

"Skibby! You're gonna get VD putting your tongue in that dirty mouth." The group buckled over with laughter and Skibby came up for air.

He turned to smile at Dally. "Well with a face like mine I gotta take what I can get!" I looked at the boy, he was tall and slender with a big nose, a long face and dirty teeth. I couldn't help but agree with him.

"Shut up Winston!" The dark haired girl on the ground shrieked. "You're just jealous."

"You're right," Dallas said sarcastically and turned away to light his cigarette. "I'm jealous I aint got your crabs in my pants."

The teenage girl pushed herself up out of the dirt and I recognized her trashy look, it was Cindy. She buttoned her blouse and tucked it into her short skirt. "I wouldn't go with you anyways, I heard from Silvia that you aint worth spit in a pot."

Hearing Silva's name only further fueled Dally's nasty attitude. "Know what Cindy? I got a rule, I don't hit girls, but my sis Scout does." Dally let out a wicked laugh and threw his thumb in my direction. I noticed a wide smile on Sodapop's face as the crowd ooed and laughed. Cindy looked my way as Dally flashed a cocky grin. "I suggest you just shut up or I'll have my girl work you over. You wouldn't want to forget your own name again, now would ya?"

The crowd laughed harder recalling the lucky punch I had used against Cindy months before when she picked a fight with me at a football game. Cindy pulled her sweater back onto her shoulders and growled under her breath. "Come on Skibby, let's get outta here." Skibby didn't listen. He came with his gang and he was staying with his gang. Cindy looked lost for a moment then sassed, "I'm out of here," and she left.

The Sheppard gang was different from our outfit when it came to girls. No one in Tim Sheppard's gang seemed to mind as Cindy stormed off into the darkness. A girl in our gang would never have to walk alone. I actually felt sad for her as she disappeared.

To keep the party rolling Two-Bit began handing out his beers to those who didn't' bring their own. When he came to my brother and I, we passed, but that didn't appease Two-Bit. "Oh come on Scout!" He razed me. "You know you want some. You aint gotta be shy just cause Soda's here, he don't care none." I laughed and politely refused a second time. Suddenly Two-Bit offered another suggestion as he pulled two rectangular glass bottles out of the pockets of his leather jacket. There was no doubt the bottles were stolen. "I bet you're holding out for the good stuff. What's your poison? Vodka or whiskey?"

Neither," I answered and sat down on a log next to my brother.

Two-Bit cocked his eyebrow and grinned. "You sure? This here whiskey is so strong it'll even kill those VD germs in Skibby's mouth!" The group laughed and Two-Bit unscrewed the top and handed the bottle to me.

Undecidedly I took the liquor in my hand and thought about the brandy I had drank with James. It was warm and burned my throat. I wondered if whiskey would do the same or if it tasted better. I looked over at Sodapop. He didn't drink, but he also didn't seem to mind that I was about to. My vision was drawn back to Two-Bit's eyes as I looked for trust that I was doing the right thing. He simply grinned back and waited for me to taste the liquor. I put the glass rim to my lips, tilted the bottle backwards and let a small sip of fluid rush into my mouth. Instantly the whiskey burned my tongue and cheek. The taste was nasty and I turned away from the gang to spit it out. "Two-Bit!" I yelled, "That tastes like gasoline or something!"

Many of the guys in the lot burst out laughing and Soda looked at me with an ear to ear grin. "How do you know how gasoline tastes?"

Before I could answer that I was only guessing Dally grabbed the bottle from my hand. "Two-Bit what'd ya waste it on her for? She's a Curtis, you know they aint no drinkers!"

I looked back to my brother and agreed with Dally. "I don't know why you let me do that."

Sodapop rubbed the top of my head. "There are some things you should just learn for yourself the hard way to believe they're true." Soda's grin faded away slightly and his round eyes stared back at me. "That's what dad told me once..." Soda's recalling of the memory was drawn short by an expensive distraction. Pulling into the lot was a Corvette Stingray, top down.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Oh my ... what do we have here?" A greaser from Sheppard's outfit said under his breath as a slender young woman climbed out of the car. Her beauty radiated through the darkness as her hair was tossed by the wind.

"Who is that?" Sodapop strained to see through the darkness and hopped to his feet. The edges of his open blue DX shirt waved in the wind and he fixed his hat for a better view of the gal.

"That's the dead soc's girlfriend, Cherry Valance." Jon Weston called out and slammed his fists together, "I say we work her over for all the trouble she and her kind have caused."

"Yeah!" Skibby agreed, "Let's drag her down to the park and drown her in the fountain!"

"Come on boys!" A greaser I didn't know spoke the final battle cry. "Let's mess her up!" The crowd growled their agreement and Tim Sheppard elected himself to throw the first punch.

A few feet away I was mortified to hear the suggestion and even more shocked that half of the crowd was ready to go along with the plan, even Dally! I stood up and threw a glance to Soda. We seemed to share the same opinion that pulling a girl into the fight between the socs and the greasers just wasn't right. I grabbed my brother's hand hoping he would stay back. In my head I wondered what Sodapop would do if the boys did jump her. I knew he wouldn't dare throw a punch at a girl, but he also wouldn't dare speak out against the crowd either.

"Ya'll just leave her outta this." Two-Bit's voice of reason rang out trying to calm the forming mob. "Let's just hear what she's come for."

The redhead confidently walked up to the greasy group of strangers and looked into the crowd. Jon Weston stepped forward and barked. "What are you doing coming around here? You already caused enough trouble. These aint your parts."

The soc had no idea, or care, about how close she was to getting jumped. If at anytime Two-Bit changed his mind in fending off the wolves she would've been beaten but good.

"Hey Two-Bit." The girl spoke to the familiar face she knew and pulled a few strands of hair out from in front of her face. "I'm looking for Ponyboy and Johnny's family, wondering if they were around here."

Sodapop stepped forward into the firelight along side his friend. His face was serious as he stared down the visitor. "I'm Ponyboy's brother."

A wide smile graced the young lady's face as she seemed to recognized my brother. "Hi, you must be Sodapop. I'm Sherry Valance. I met Ponyboy at the movies last Friday night." Sodapop didn't acknowledge her comment and the silence between the two was uncomfortable. Cherry stuffed her hands into the pockets of her sweater jacket. "I just wanted you to know that I spoke with the cops again today. I told them I'm going to testify that Bob and the boys were drunk that night…" Cherry looked past Sodapop noticing me as I slowly walked to my brother's side so I could hear her speak.

I wondered if she knew I was Ponyboy's twin sister.

Cherry flashed a small nervous smile at me then continued. "When the boys dropped me off they told me they were going to find the boys and teach'em a lesson. I told them to just go home and forget about it. I didn't ever think they would have found them, not at that hour…" Cherry looked away as the emotions welled up inside of her. She didn't want to let the gang see her cry so she took a deep breath to steady herself. "And afterward when they came by to tell me what they had done and what had happened… I … I couldn't believe it. I felt so guilty that I didn't do more to stop him or that I shouldn't have ever talked to Ponyboy and Johnny to begin with." Cherry looked to the darkness then back to my brother as she quenched her emotions. "Anyway … I'll testify Bob was the one looking for the fight. I'll tell them Johnny and Ponyboy most likely acted in self defense." Cherry smiled lightly.

"Thanks, that's real nice of you." Soda hitched his thumbs in his belt looped and smiled back at her. "Hopefully Ponyboy'll come home if he hears about that."

Seeing an opening in the conversation Dally slyly stepped close to Cherry and tried to act sympathetic. "I sure can tell how upset you are, how'bout I take you down to the Dingo for a Coke." Dallas tried to put his arm around her and she politely told him to 'go to hell' then headed back towards her car. Sheppard's gang quietly laughed at him being shot down.

"Wait a second Cherry!" Two-Bit called to stop her. She walked back near Two-Bit, Soda and I. "Whaddya know about this rumble."

"Not much." She said simply. "Just that it's going to be this Saturday and it's suppose to settle all the trouble between everyone."

"Do me a favor and talk to your side," Two-Bit mediated, "we want this to be a fair fight, no weapons. You'll ask'em for me, right?"

Cherry smiled because she liked Two-Bit. "Sure, I'll find out for you." She turned and looked me in the eye. "I hope ya'll find Ponyboy soon. I'm so sorry…" The beautiful young woman couldn't finish her thought without crying so she just turned and left. I watched her walk away into the darkness knowing how she felt. I had something in common with that soc. She felt broken hearted and alone, just like me.

Her Corvette pulled away from the dirty vacant lot as the boys drooled over how great it would be to have just one opportunity to drive that car, or sniff the interior. My brother and I stayed with the group for another hour talking about plans for the rumble and other random topics before Sodapop walked home with me.

Once we were out of earshot from the guys in the lot I started the conversation. "How long do you think it's gonna be till Dally tells us where the boys are hiding?"

Soda shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans. "I don't know, maybe now that Cherry is willing to say it was all in self defense they'll come home."

I looked ahead at our house The living room lights glowed peacefully through the darkness and the home looked warm and inviting. "Yeah but Ponyboy and Johnny won't know that unless someone tells them."

Soda's voice had a hint of anger to it. "Well someone better hurry up and tell them," his voice cracked, "if you know who I mean."

We climbed the porch steps and I looked over at my brother, tears streaming down his young face. I could only muster a whisper as we walked into the house. "Yeah, I know who you mean."

Once secure inside the seclusion of our house Sodapop stumbled over to the sofa and collapsed in a pile of sobs and tears. I rushed to his side and threw my arm around him. "Shhhh, come on So, it's gonna be alright." I found myself vainly trying to mend his pain while I fell into the same emotional state. "Don't cry now… it'll all get better."

Soda's face was red with pain as he picked his head up from where it was buried in his hands. "That's what I thought… when mom and dad died." Soda paused to breathe then sobbed again. "But now look, I've lost Ponyboy, Sandy…" The girl's name was too much to hear spoken and Soda cried out loud trying to release the pain of heartache from his soul. "Nothing seems to get better." I couldn't disagree with my brother and no words of comfort came to my mind to make all of his pain go away. "I'm just lonely… I guess." Sodapop sat back on the couch and breathed in trying to calm himself. "I aint used to being so lonely. I just have always had Dad, or Ponyboy … then Sandy to help make everything better."

I pulled away from my brother trying to bring humor to the situation. "Hey! What am I? Chopped liver?" I cocked an eyebrow just like he and Two-Bit liked to do.

My brother looked over at me and a smile graced his face. He wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve and laughed a little. "Nah I aint saying that. It's just that you're my sister, and that's different then a brother or a girlfriend. You know?"

Still smiling I looked back at him through my teary eyes. "Yeah, I know. I lost that kind of friend when Casey had to go."

"See I damn near forgot about almost losing you. What if…?" Sodapop held back from talking about memories of waiting outside in the street for me to come out of Casey's house. "You know they always say life is never easy." He took in a shaky breath and calmed himself. "I just never figured it'd be this hard."

I nodded my head in agreement. "I hear you there!" I looked up at the clock and it was well after ten. "Tell you what, how bout I sleep in Ponyboy's place tonight. Then you won't have to be so lonely. Would you like that?"

Soda sniffled and smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

I went back to my room and put on my pajamas and noticed Pony's sweatshirt sticking out from under my bed. I knelt down and picked up the article of clothing and tried to speak to my brother. "Oh Pony… why can't you just come home?"

I heard Sodapop come back from the bathroom and flip on the bedroom light. I stuffed the sweatshirt into my dresser drawer and went to be with my brother. I climbed into the bed on Ponyboy's side. I liked being there, in some way it made me feel closer to my brothers. Soda liked it too because he threw his arm over top of me, buried his head in his pillow and cried himself to sleep. Once he was quiet, I closed my eyes and drifted off as well.

**Author's note:** I wanted to say thanks to all my readers and reviewers! You have made this writing hobby of mine a lot of fun.

I also want to explain that I will be gone for two weeks so there will be a small delay in the posting of the next few chapters. I do promise to take a notebook and pen so I can keep the story going! (I may be able to post one more chapter after this before I leave.)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven 

Thursday morning Darry pulled Sodapop and me out of bed later than usual. At first I thought he must have figured we needed the extra sleep due to the fact that we all hadn't been sleeping much, but as I stood up I noticed his eyes. They were red and swollen from crying. That was the real reason he didn't want us to join him bright and early.

My heart sank, I had seen Darry and Sodapop cry everyday this week and I felt so helpless for not being able to mend their hearts. With less time than usually Sodapop and I scrambled to get ready for work and school. I ate a piece of toast for breakfast and nearly ran into Steve coming through the front door as I was going out to get the newspaper.

"Good news in the paper this morning!" Steve called out holding the item I was looking for in his hand. "Say's Bob Sheldon was likely killed in self-defense!" I pulled the paper out of Steve's hands and laid it on the dining room table. Darry and I read the short story together as Steve paraphrased it for Sodapop and Two-Bit. "Said Johnny and Ponyboy are still unaccounted for and they are believed to have left the state. Also sound's like the socs who were there are going to testify that they provoked the fight that lead to the stabbing." Steve reached onto the table and ate a dry biscuit left out from the night before. "If ole'Dally knows where they are I sure hope he let's them know they're about in the clear."

"That's right!" Two-Bit agreed. "It aint right. Those two hiding out somewhere when they don't have to." My brother's and I couldn't agree more, but no one had any idea how to get Dally to agree with all of us.

I climbed into the backseat of Steve's car to ride to school but I wasn't too excited to be heading back to classes. I hadn't really been there all week and being Ponyboy's sister I didn't feel too safe with all of the feuding between the greasers and the socs. As the scenery passed by the window my mind wandered to the night before. So many of my kind were ready to jump Cherry Valance without good reason. I feared a group of socs could easily do the same to me. Two-Bit and Steve must have been thinking the same thing because they walked me to my locker and first class, just to be safe.

When the bell rang to start first hour the teacher, Mr. Bellvin, gave the class assigned busywork and then called me out into the hall. "Miss Curtis," He began and looked over the top of his bifocal lenses at me. "I haven't received one lick of homework from you all week and tomorrow is the chapter test." I looked around at the floor, the lockers and my shoes, but didn't provide an answer. "Uh hem!" Mr. Belvin called for my attention. "Chemistry is not just something you can guess at, you had better go home tonight and get the work done that is due. If you don't there is no way you will be able to keep you're 'A' average."

"Yes sir," I muttered simply without further promises and he allowed me back into class. It wasn't the only time I had to mutter those words. Both my second, third and fourth period teachers took me aside to let me know how badly my grades were slipping. By lunch time I could barely think straight. My head was confused and about to explode with all the work I needed to do then I thought of Ponyboy. Just the thought of his name made me want to fall to my knees and stay crippled in sorrow. I knew that I would never be any good to anyone or myself till someone found him and brought him home.

On my way to the parking lot to join the boys for lunch I wandered back to my locker first. In the chaos of the halls I thought about how far behind Ponyboy was going to be in his school. With our dreams of scholarships fading Darry's disappointing words and yelling flooded my thoughts. I didn't want to have to hear all of that, I just wanted my brother back. I pulled open the door to my locker and started to stuff in the books I was going to need to get caught up on my schoolwork. The weight of the assignments was unbearable and the reality of it all set in while hot tears of frustration flooded my eyes.

I knew I had to leave the school before anyone saw them. Angrily I shoved my full knapsack back into my locker and ran down the steps and out the side door. I spent the first few blocks sobbing and walking away from the direction of my waiting friends. Just above a whisper I spoke out loud cursing myself, then Dally and Pony and Darry. In my anger I walked fast and to nowhere particular till a thought crossed my mind and stopped me in my tracks. 'I'll just go get him!' Without hesitation I made up my mind that I wasn't going to wait for Ponyboy any longer. He was lost and I was going to set out on the biggest journey of my life to go and find him.

I sat down on the curb and thought about what I would have to do and where I would have to go. At first I figured Texas was the best place to start looking because maybe Dallas was right…DALLAS! Not the city of course, the man! All I had to do was track Dallas and in time he would lead me right to my brother! Now there were just a few people I had to tell how much I loved so they wouldn't have to worry about me while I was gone.

I wandered through the streets of Tulsa to the entrance of the graveyard. I took a long pause before stepping in. In all of these months I had never returned to my parent's graves. Perhaps because the cemetery was far from home, or perhaps the reunion would have been far too painful. I wasn't sure which, but I knew I would find out.

Looking around I saw the sun was starting it's decent to the horizon and it was already late afternoon. I hurried inside the gates and realized I had been so upset the day of the funeral that I had no idea where my parents were buried. I was unsure if I would even be able to find my parents amid the other stones, trees and confusing winding roads. Having skipped out of school I had nothing better to do then search, so I did.

All I remembered was the small hill Darry and I walked down to his truck and a large tree, but the vast area was full of those. I walked the roads waiting for something to help me find my parent's resting place. After a few laps with no luck I decided to walk amidst the stones and look for my name. It must have taken an hour for me to notice the small, flat gray stones marked, CURTIS.

Falling to my knees I ran my fingers over the letters M A R G A R E T. Her name looked wrong since everyone called her Maggie. Leaning forward I wrapped my arms around the stone and held my eyes shut tight hoping to hear her voice, praying she would return to me for just a moment. I waited as the winds blew my hair across my face, but nothing happened. No voices and no apparitions. I lifted my head and looked at her name again. I needed to tell her I was leaving to go find my brother but all I could do was weep and cry out. "Momma! Why can't you come back? I need you to be here for me… please God just let her come back." I sobbed and leaned back down to caress the chiseled letters on the top of the stone.

Turning my head I looked at my father's marker. I reached over and touched the raised letters in his name, D A R R E L L C U R T I S. I continued to weep as I cried out into the wind and pounded on his stone grave. "Daddy, you got to come back. Darry can't do this alone." I picked my head up and looked around hoping to find my father, standing by the nearby tree, playing hide and seek they way he often did. All I saw were the branches blowing in the strong Oklahoma wind.

I sat with my parents talking to them as if they could somehow hear me. "Everything has been just horrible without you. I just about died, Soda has a broken heart, Darry and Ponyboy got into an argument and now Pony and Johnny are accused of killing this boy … can you believe that? See though, it was all in self defense but Ponyboy doesn't know that and he's been missing all week. Don't worry though, I'll find him… if I have to die trying." I breathed in deep attempting to calm myself. "Nothing is gonna get better till we see him again, and Darry is just miserable. I've never seen him this way."

The cool wind picked up speed and dropped in temperature. I pulled my red hooded sweatshirt closer to my body. As I laid in the cemetery small puddles of tears landed on the cold stone rocks that now represented my parents. "Life is nothing like it was when you two were here. I know you know how much Darry has done for all of us, and we just slow him down and somehow find ways to make his life hard and miserable." Guilt filled my senses as I remembered what a burden I was to my brothers. I closed my eyes to hold back a few tears. "Oh mamma…" I muttered and inhaled deeply. I let my eyes stay shut for a long while hoping to hear her voice and struggling to remember her face.

Something wet dropped onto my cheek then nose and ear. I lifted my hand and brushed the irritant away. The trouble double, tripled then a loud crack of thunder shocked my system and fully woke me. I pushed myself to a sitting position and looked to the sky as dark gray thunder clouds loomed above. Thunder cracked again and the soft rain turned to a downpour. Springing to my feet I looked for suitable shelter but could only find the nearby oak tree.

I ran over and huddled close to the trunk as the water seeped past the half foliated branches. I zipped my sweatshirt shut and pulled the hood over my wet head. Glancing toward the stone markers I recognized my brother's name. 'Oh glory!' I thought. 'I have no idea what time it is and Darry is going to be livid when he finds out I skipped school'. I knew I had to get home soon.

My eyes strained through the storm noticing the front gate to the cemetery off in the distance. I took off at the full run through the grass and mud on my way to the cobblestone road. I was halfway to the gate when a faint light glowed behind me through the raindrops and I heard the horn. Twisting to see behind me I noticed headlights from an old truck while the rain poured down. I stepped off to the side of the road so the vehicle could pass. Slowly it crept closer and stopped alongside of me. I didn't recognize the truck or the driver as he slid across the vinyl seat and pushed the passenger door open for me.

"Come on, get in!" A young man's voice yelled out the open door. My mind spun through the thoughts that I didn't know this boy, but continuing to stand in the cold blowing rain wasn't my favorite option either. I climbed into the truck cab and pulled the door shut. The rainwater ran down my face and I noticed the puddles forming on the floor and seat from my dripping wet clothing. I used my soaked shoulders to clear the water from my eyes and turned to my left. Two wide, round crystal blue eyes stared in my direction. The boy's long blond bangs fell in wet strips in front of his eyes. "Looks like you got caught in the storm too."

"Yeah I guess so." I must have looked nervous as I glanced over my shoulder in the direction I had come from.

"So what were you doing here?" His soft southern drawl called my attention back to him.

"Huh?"

He smiled again and his eyes sparkled. "What brings you to the cemetery on a Thursday afternoon?"

A friendly smile bent my lips as the sound of the beating rain echoed off the metal roof. "Just visiting, and you?"

"Just workin'." The young man cocked his head and brushed his bangs away from his eyes. "My names Owen Jasper."

"Nice to meet you." I replied and tucked wet tuffs of hair behind my ears. "I'm Scout Curtis."

"Scout?" Owen asked and pointed towards me. "I thought I knew you! You're in my European History class. You always sit in the front." I sized up the boy wondering if sitting in the front of the class was a good or bad part of my character. I was still trying to decide when he continued. "Come to think of it you weren't in class today."

His words reverberated trough my mind and I became aware of the fact that I was on my way home. "What time is it?"

Owen looked at his watch. "Almost six o'clock… are you ok?"

I felt my eyes widen and my mind panicked as I realized I had wandered away at lunch time and no one knew where I was. I calculated that Darry would be home soon cause of the rain and I didn't want to be late and cause further family trouble. "I … I gotta go."

I was about to open the door and jump back into the rain when Owen grabbed my hand. "Whoa! You can't go back out there you'll get soaked and catch pneumonia." I paused and took in his perfect smile as he turned the truck key. "How'bout I drive you home."

I blushed a little and was grateful for his kindness. "That would be great, thank you."

Owen put the truck into gear and the engine revved up and shuddered as the gear took hold. "So … you never said what brought you out to the cemetery today."

"I don't know." I said absently as the windshield wipers thumped back and forth. I was still thinking about how much I missed my family.

"You don't know?" Owen laughed and waited for a better response from me.

"My parents are buried here. I kind of came to see them."

Owen pulled the truck to a stop at the cemetery gate as thunder rolled across the sky. "Oh that's right. I'm sorry to hear that."

I looked at him and furrowed my brow. "How do you know my parents?"

"I don't know them. I just remember …" Owen stopped his thought.

I turned toward the boy. "Remembered what?"

"Nothing really. I just remember about your parents passing away."

Owen didn't want to tell me he had been there when the grave was dug and prepared for them so he awkwardly changed the subject. "I read about you in the paper after you and your friend were shot by her father." Owen halted at a stop sign, looked over at me and spoke empathetically. "Then today at school I heard your brother's still on the run even though he and his friend probably killed Bob Sheldon in self-defense."

I couldn't deny that it was probably hard for my peers not to know about me considering the year's events. Disappointed in the past and the troubles in my present I looked down toward my feet and spoke quietly. "Yeah. That's me and my family."

Owen looked my way with sympathy in his eyes. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. … Listen, I bet it'll all be ok Scout. Just you wait." I looked over at the confidence in his face just as the bright sunset began to shine on the outside of the storm cloud. Owen pointed to the sky. "Lookie there. See even after the worst storms something beautiful can happen."

While we drove I looked into to the sky and watched a faint rainbow begin to shine with ever growing intensity. I thought of Ponyboy and how much he loved to stare off into the sky. If he was at home and he saw the display he would have called me to the porch or yard and we would have stared into the sky enjoying the rainbow together till it faded away.

Owen spoke again with excitement and pulled the truck over to the side of the road. "It's a double rainbow. Look at the second arc forming just above the first one, beautiful isn't it?"

I looked out the front window at the colors paralleling each other and sighed. "It really is." We spent a minute admiring the beauty and I thought about my two parents. Maybe there was a heaven and maybe that rainbow was them.

Owen continued on and drove me home and insisted on dropping me off at the front door to my house. I had preferred he stop a block away to give me time to formulate a story to explain why I was late, but his manners wouldn't allow him to do that. Stopping outside my house Owen looked my way. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

I deviantly smiled back and lied, "I'll see you tomorrow." I climbed out and walked around the front of the truck to the fence gate. When Owen pulled away I noticed Kathryn's father's car across the street. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful Kathryn was here to keep Darry from yelling at me as I wandered inside.

No one was in the living room when I entered. I kicked off my wet shoes and called for Sodapop. "So? Are you home?" He didn't answer, but the sound of footsteps was heavy in the hall as Sodapop, Darry, Kathryn and Kathryn's father emerged from the back of the house.

"Scout? Where have you been?" Darry walked toward me and asked without anger. "You're soaking wet!"

"I was at the cemetery. I went to visit mom and dad and got caught in the storm." I said and tried to keep my eye contact away from Kathryn and her father. I was a little embarrassed to be standing before them in my old wet clothes.

"Oh… next time you want to go there just ask. You know Soda or I will drive you there." Darry said quietly. Apparently he didn't know I had skipped out of school. "Why don't you go get some dry clothes on while I finish speaking with Mr. Ottavi."

I looked up briefly to greet Kathryn and her father before I headed to my room. Sodapop chose to come along with me and when we could talk in private I asked. "What is Mr. Ottavi doing here?"

Sodapop flopped down on his old bed in my room. "He came by to tell Darry he'd be willing to help us out anyway he could with the Ponyboy thing. Says he talked with the chief of police and according to witnesses Ponyboy didn't have one lick of nothing to do with the killing, it was all Johnny."

My mouth fell open as I pitifully thought of poor Johnny getting the whole rap. "yeah but it was still self defense for Johnny right?"

Sodapop twitched the corner of his cheek in disappointment and shook his head. "Mr. Ottavi aint sure how the law is gonna see it. Says they aren't saying nothin about charges till they get a chance to talk with Johnny about his side of the story."

"Well that's just bull!" I said angrily, "we all know Johnny wouldn't ever do something like that if he didn't have a good reason too."

"I know!" Sodapop said trying to calm my anger. "You don't have to tell me that. Soda got a grave look of concern in his eye. "Ponyboy and Johnny better get home soon, or they're just gonna be in a lot more trouble."

I looked past my brother to a picture on my wall that Ponyboy had drawn in pencil a few years ago. It was me and Pony swinging on the tire swing together. "Don't worry Soda, he'll be home soon." I said then kicked him out of my room so I could change my clothes.

Mr. Ottavi was kind enough to treat my brothers and I to dinner at Tony's Pizzeria. Soda and Darry were shocked to see me devour three slices of pizza. They didn't know what to think as I ate what I assumed would be my last meal with them in a very long time.

Late in the evening the Ottavi's dropped us off at home and I went straight to my room to sort through my thoughts. I knew Dally would soon be in contact Ponyboy and I wanted to be there when he did. I knew the only way for that to happen was to stay close to Dally, real close. So I pulled out a notebook and wrote a letter of explanation to my brothers. The last thing I wanted was for them to worry about where I was or why I had left. Before I went to sleep I set my alarm clock for an early morning hour then I walked out to the living room to say good night, and goodbye. "Hey Darry," I said and stood by him to draw his attention away from the bill he was reading. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Ok, goodnight." Darry said without looking at me.

"I want you to know something. I really appreciate everything you have done for me since mom and dad died." My voice grew a little unsteady and I tried to stay composed. "You have never let me down… I just wanted you to know that and to know how much I love you!"

My words grabbed Darry's attention, and he put the bill down on the coffee table and looked up to me. "Scout is everything ok?"

I smiled and sniffled back more tears. "Yeah, I just miss Pony a lot right now. I'd been thinking about him and how I never bothered to tell him how much I loved him. So I want to be sure I tell you and Soda."

From Dad's chair Sodapop heard the conversation, turned the radio down and walked to my side. "Scout… Ponyboy knows how much you love him, so do Darry and I."

I turned to Soda and seeing his face only weakened my resolve to stay composed. "Thanks So. I love you so much, I just didn't want to go another minute without letting you know that." I looked to both of my brothers. "I am so proud of both of you for working so hard to keep us all together." I wrapped my arms around Sodapop and hugged him tighter than I usually did. I kissed his cheek and told him goodnight. Then I did the same to Darry, told them both, "Don't worry too much about me, I'll be fine." Assuming I was just speaking in general terms the boys told me to have a good night and I headed off to bed.

Author's note: In case I haven't said it enough I'll say it again- thank you so much for all of your reviews and for enjoying and reading these stories! These next few chapters will certainly be the hardest for me because I will be working to mix Scout in with the book. It's not my normal style to do so, but I have gotten to a point where I'm just gonna have to! 

I hope you all enjoy as Scout journey's further into the pages of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders novel. I will try my best to make it well worth the read!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve 

Oddly I woke before my alarm went off. I took one long last look around the bedroom and got a lonely feeling in my stomach. I feared I wouldn't be back home for a long time. Next I slipped on my favorite jeans, a t-shirt, Sodapop's old red hooded sweatshirt and my tennis shoes. Silently I grabbed Sodapop's high school knapsack that he rarely every used and put the note explaining my disappearance on the dining room table.

_Darry & Sodapop,_

_All this week I have been wandering around in a fog, scared of my own shadow and missing my brother terribly! I can't sleep without him, eat without him or think without him. I have fallen behind in school and don't know how I will ever catch up. So there is no better time than now to set off and go looking for Ponyboy. I refuse to believe he is gone for good and that he can't be found. This is something I must do. I am so sorry if I cause you any pain or grief from my decision. I love both of you more than you will ever know. I promise to be good, to be safe and to call home if I need anything._

_Love forever, your Sissy Scout_

I confidentially walked out the front door and didn't look back. My mind was made up. I was going to follow Dallas Winston for as long as it took him to lead me to my brother.

Following a long walk through my neighborhood I sat hidden across the street from Buck Merrill's place for most of the morning hours. I was positioned so I could see everyone who left the front door and the back. I realized there was a slim chance Dally wasn't there, but he hadn't slept at our house and he didn't have a car so he had to be somewhere in the neighborhood. After a few hours I began to worry I was too late. Perhaps Dally had left the day before to tell the boys the news of Cherry's testimony.

My stomach began to rumble so I pulled out a pack of graham crackers from my bag and stuffed one half into my mouth. Before I could eat the other half of the cracker I noticed Dally leave out the front door in his blue jean jacket. Quickly I buckled the flap on my sack and threw it onto my back. I was ready to follow him on foot to where ever he would roam, then he spoiled my plan by tossing a set of car keys into the air just before getting behind the wheel of Buck's red T-Bird convertible.

'Oh no' I thought because I had no idea where he was going or how I would be able to follow him.

Dally whipped the car backwards and threw rocks from under the tires as he sped up to the intersection near my hiding space. I had no choice but to join him in his travels so I took off in a full run and dove into the backseat as he passed through the intersection.

"What the…?" Dally turned around to see who or what I was with his hand still on the wheel. The Thunderbird jerked to the right and Dally had to swerve and pull it back to the left to avoid hitting a parked car. Dallas yelled with a hint of fear in his voice, "Scout! You scared the crap out of me! What the hell are you doing?"

I straightened myself up and leaned between the two seats, "I'm going with you."

"Going with me where?" Dally asked indignantly.

"To see Ponyboy and Johnny." I said as I caught my breath and pulled my knapsack off my back. "Don't tell me that aint where you're headed cause I doubt Buck would let you drive this car to the grocery store!"

"Well you're wrong!" Dally put up a tough front. "I aint got no idea where Ponyboy is so you can just jump out of this car the same way you jumped in!"

"Dally you lie!" I stated assured of myself and climbed into the front seat. "Even if you aren't going today you are going, and I plan to follow you every minute of your life till you lead me to my brother." I turned toward him, flashed my best evil smile and cocked an eyebrow for good measure. "Don't doubt that I will. Every minute of every day I'll be watching you, following you, hanging with you."

Dally looked quickly at me then away, then back to me again. He knew my stubbornness and there was no way he was going to get me off his tail. Frustrated, he issued his own demands. "Ok, I'll let you come with, but not a word of this to your brothers you hear me? Plus you keep your trapped shut around the boys too!"

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when Dally spoke those words. I realized in a few minutes, or hours I would be able to see my brother. I clapped my hands and pounded my feet on the floor. "Thank you Dally! Thank you! I knew you were hiding him all along! I just knew it!"

"Yeah well you're wrong there, I aint hiding them… they're hiding themselves." Dally's statement rang true as we took the long ride out of the city and into the countryside. I had just about fallen asleep in the car when Dally pulled onto a red dirt rode that led up a tall hill.

"Are we here?" I sat up and asked.

"I think so… I aint ever been here." Dally sped up the road almost to the top. "By the way, this is just a visit to make sure they're ok. Hell, I don't even know for sure if they are here, so keep quiet about this place, savvy? I don't think it's safe for the boys to come out of hiding yet."

"What are you talking about?" I looked wide-eyed at the man. "It was self defense! You heard what Cherry said."

About one hundred feet from a large clearing in the woods Dally pulled the car to the side of the road and turned off the engine. "Listen up tag along…" Dally poked me hard in the chest with his finger. "I'll call the shots around here and if you don't like it I'll be happy to drive you out to the highway and toss you out onto the street."

"Fine Dallas." I was taken back from his sudden anger and intensity. "Whatever you say."

Dallas pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened his car door. "You wait here for me. I'm going up the road a bit." Dallas looked off into the trees as if someone was tailing him. "You hear anyone coming you hide off in those trees, ya hear me?" I shook my head yes and watched the young man saunter down the dirt road and disappear around the corner, shadowed by the big trees. The minutes he was gone seemed to drag on and on. With every long passing moment my heart filled with doubt that Ponyboy was anywhere nearby. Finally I slouched in the front seat and allowed tears of frustration to roll down my cheeks.

"Where'd ya get that car?" In the distance I heard a familiar voice. I sat up just high enough in the car to see over the dashboard. Coming down the road in my direction were Dally, Johnny and … Ponyboy?

Standing up on the car seat I saw the blond boy walking with the others and strained to see if it was really my brother. "Ponyboy?" I said just loud enough to hear the name myself. I looked at the blond kid's face and noticed those eyes, those were Ponyboy's eyes. My heart leapt with joy. "PONYBOY!" I yelled and jumped out of the car and sprinted toward my brother.

Pony stopped in the road to focus on who was running toward him then he realized the person he saw wasn't a dream. "Scout!" Ponyboy yelled and ran to meet me half way. We jumped into each other's arms and held each other tight. "Scout what are you doing here?" Ponyboy asked and let me loose.

"What am I doing here?" I looked up at him through teary eyes and hit him hard on the arm. "What are you doing here? Ponyboy, have you any idea how worried we've been? Huh? And what did you do to your hair?"

I let go of my brother before he answered any of my questions and turned to Johnny who had walked up to Ponyboy's side. It was good to see Johnny's smile and I hugged him in my arms. "Johnny, are you ok? Have you been up here this whole time? How in the world did you get you two get here?"

Dallas cracked a grin and leaned toward Johnny, "Crimeaneze! She asks just as many questions as her brother does!" Dallas slapped Johnny on the back to get him moving toward the car. "Come on, let's get going!" The four of us climbed into the car, I rode in the backseat with Ponyboy as Dallas sped his way into the small town nearby.

At the Dairy Queen Dally took the liberty of ordering for everyone then we pulled into the parking lot to eat. I sat in the backseat, ecstatic to be alongside my brother again. Quietly, Ponyboy and I listened to Dally and Johnny talking about the way things were at home. Dally told everyone about Cherry coming to the vacant lot and her decision to testify in Johnny's favor. Then Johnny made a decision that shocked us all.

"We're going back." Dally questioned what he had heard and Johnny repeated his decision. "We're going back and we're gonna turn ourselves in."

I was never so happy to hear Johnny make that decision. Dally had a different opinion. He ranted and raved and scolded Johnny for his feelings and decision all the way back to the place where Johnny and Ponyboy had been hiding out. As we headed up the red dirt hill Ponyboy and I exchanged a glance of agreement that everyone needed to go home. I could see the stress building in Ponyboy as he grabbed a cigarette and worried that Dally would refuse to let them leave.

Suddenly the car came to a sliding halt and Dally exasperated. "Oh Glory!" There in the clearing was an old church engulfed in flames. I began to put pieces of the puzzle together as I figured that was the hide out Dallas had supplied for the boys.

"Let's go see what the deal is." Ponyboy said and leapt out of the car against Dally's verbal demands not too. My brother jogged toward the crowd of children and adults gathered near the burning church, as always Johnny followed him. I took a long look at Dallas and realized he couldn't skin us all so I chose to jump out of the car and joined the boys.

Once I caught up to Pony and Johnny one of the ladies was yelling at a man claiming some of the children were missing. The over weight man denied the possibility that any of the children could have wandered off, but the lady was adamant that she was right. "No! They've been missing for at least a half an hour. I thought they were climbing the hill…"

Then we all froze as a chilling sound found it's way into our ears. Faintly you could hear a child's voice yelling for help from inside the church. The woman immediately began screaming for someone to save the children's lives.

Ponyboy's face filled with determination as he yelled. "I'll get them! Don't worry!"

The man tried to stop my brother by grabbing him, but Ponyboy pulled loose and ran toward the church with Johnny right behind him. After a week of missing my brother I decided that I wasn't going to let Ponyboy go into that flaming church alone. I sprinted to catch up but by the time I arrived to the blaze Ponyboy and Johnny had already entered the church through a side window.

I reached up to the window frame and prepared to pull myself into the flaming building when thick black smoke rolled outward at me. I inhaled the toxic smoke into my lungs and had to pause to cough the fumes away. Briefly I wondered how Johnny and Ponyboy managed to breathe inside the church then I remember the amount of cigarettes they smoked in a day. Their lungs were used to the toxins. I tried again to pull my body forward through the church window when a strong force grabbed the back of my sweatshirt and threw me backwards. Roughly my body struck the ground.

"Hey stupid, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Dally stood between the church window and me. His eyes burned with concern that I had never seen in him before.

I clambered to my feet and motioned to the burning building. "I gotta help them!"

"You aint going anywhere…" Dally's demand was interrupted by the sound of children screaming and a few wooden boards being knocked out of another side window. Dallas grabbed my arm to keep me from entering the church and pulled me toward the area where the children were being tossed free from the flames. The two of us pulled a few more boards free to make room for the children to exit. Then high above our heads Dally and I heard a heavy cracking of timbers. He looked into the burning church window. "Get out of there! The roof is going to cave in, forget the kids!"

My mouth fell open and I looked wide-eyed at Dallas in surprise. At first I was horrified that he would allow the small children trapped inside to perish. Then the reality of the situation came to me. All Dally wanted was to keep his own 'family' alive. He wasn't unconcerned about the children he was just more concerned about Ponyboy and Johnny. Turning back to the church I could see large fiery planks from the ceiling breaking free and smashing to the floor below. "Come on you two! Hurry up and get out of there." I screamed just as Ponyboy jumped out the window. I looked over to see him stumbling and gasping for breath. My attention was drawn back to the church when Johnny could be heard screaming in pain as more of the roof collapsed. Dallas cussed long and loud and I turned to see him knock Ponyboy down to the ground to extinguish the flames on my brother's back. Inside Johnny screamed again for Ponyboy to help him. His voice pierced with fear.

Instinctively Dallas and I ran to the church window to search for our friend. I crawled inside the blaze with Dally close behind. All around us were flaming boards and the heat was nearly unbearable. A dozen feet from the window Johnny's body laid trapped beneath a heavy burning beam. Through gagging coughs I tried to grab the flaming timber with my sweatshirt covered hands, but it was too hot and too heavy. Johnny's voice grew weak as he screamed and pleaded for help. Sweat poured down the side of my face as I used my foot to kick free the fire-engulfed timber Dally had lifted with his arms from it's resting place.

"Ok he's free! He's free, get out of here!" Dallas yelled at me and hoisted Johnny up underneath his armpits to drag him out.

I turned to exit the inferno and mistakenly exhaled a large amount of toxic smoke. Gagging for fresh air I stumbled through the burning wood and embers toward the exit before falling to the floor in a fit of coughs. I looked up through the smoke at Dally who leaned Johnny's limp body out the window to be caught by the teachers below. I struggled to stand as cinders singed my hair and burned small holes in my sweatshirt. Dally noticed my struggle and grabbed a hold of my sweatshirt as the wooden floor began to lurch beneath us.

"Get … out, Scout!" He coughed and yelled as the wind from outside blew through the tattered building causing the fire to swell and the temperature to rise. To shelter me from the raging flames Dallas Winston wrapped me in his arms. With the brightness of the firelight I could see Dally's jacket and arm were badly burned. I turned my head to him in fear and looked into his now protective eyes. Somehow I felt comfort in them. I trusted he was going to do whatever he could to get us out of the church before the last of the roof caved in on top of us.

When the strong wind passed the flames were reduced and Dally hoisted me off the floor and heaved me out the window. I landed with a thud on the hard ground below and gasped for fresh air. In seconds Dallas was beside me on his hands and knees searching for the same breath as I was and cursing the burnt skin on his arm. Suddenly the sound of gunfire went off and the two of us covered our heads for safety.

The sound triggered memories for me that I would have rather forgotten. I tried to stand up in a hurry to flee, but the motion and lack of fresh oxygen made my head swirl and soon the world disappeared into darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

My eyes popped open as the shrill sound of the ambulance siren flooded my hearing. Instinctively I put my hand up to my neck to see if I had been shot again. There was no wound. Not knowing where I was I tried to sit up. When I did my breath fell short and I coughed and gagged.

"Hold on there. Just lie still." The gray haired paramedic pushed down on my shoulder to be sure I didn't try to sit up again.

I looked at the older man and stayed on my back. "What… happened? Was… was I shot?"

"No." The medic had a look of confusion on his face. "You were in a fire, went in to save your friend, they say."

"But, I … thought I heard gunfire?" I said hoarsely. I was sure I had heard the sound of Duke Dobbins' gun.

The man smiled gently and spoke. "I don't know nothing about gunfire, but I do know that everyone on Jay Mountain was talking about how you and your friends are quite the pack of heroes. You saved all those little children from sure death."

His words reminded me of why I was on the mountain to begin with. "The others?" I coughed again. "What happened … to them?"

A comforting smile crossed the man's face and he patted me on the forehead. "I don't know little darling. I was just in charge of takin' care of you. We'll know more when we get to the hospital in a minute."

"Hospital?" I breathed in and could smell the lingering smoke in my hair and clothing even with the oxygen tube in my nose. "What hospital am I going to?"

"Tulsa Memorial."

Tulsa, I was headed home. I closed my eyes and thought of how Ponyboy had been laying lifeless near the church. My stomach turned and my eyes began to tear at the mere thought of my brother being dead. When the ambulance stopped the rear door was pulled open and again my body was pulled through the doors of the emergency room. As I rolled down the hall I looked to my right and left for Ponyboy, but he was nowhere to be found. The gurney rolled into the treatment room and the controlled chaos of the hospital staff swirled around me just as they had weeks before.

"Hi there honey. What's your name?" The female nurse had a sweet drawl and a pretty smile. She stood by my side, clipboard in hand.

"Scout Marie Curtis." I said and my head began to throb harder from the bright overhead lights.

The nurse paused a moment and I figured she was familiar with my name. I wasn't sure if she had been working in the emergency room the day I was shot or if she had become familiar with my last name from the newspapers. She never let on to which one was the reason. "Sweetie we heard about what you all did in Windrixville. Us nurses here at the hospital are real proud of you all." She paused to check her watch as she took my blood pressure. "Only problem is, you've got yourself a case of smoke inhalation so we are going to have to check you out before we let you go home."

Home! That sounded good, but what about my brother? "Mam', the boys I came in with…" I choked on the strong emotions welling up inside my throat. "Are any of them... did they?" Tears rolled down my cheeks and I began to cry.

"Shhh. Just relax there honey." The nurse gently stroked my filthy hair. "I don't know anything, but I'll have someone find out for ya. How's that sound?" She didn't wait for and answer. Her words were merely idle and meant to comfort and calm me. Instead she went about speaking to the doctor in medical terms, which I could barely understand.

The doctor and nurses spent a fair amount of time asking me questions about how I felt and checking my vital signs. When I had pulled myself together emotionally they gave me an "ok" bill of health and let me sit up to get ready to leave. I dangled my legs off the edge of the bed. Looking across the room into a mirror was the first chance I had to see myself. My sweatshirt had large burn holes in it and my face and hair were covered in soot, other then the tear streaks down the sides of my cheeks.

A nurse's aid walked into the trauma room and noticed my stare. "Don't you worry none about how you look. I'll get you a few towels and you can clean up in the bathroom." The large woman gently grabbed my hand. "Come on darlin' you are free to go. It's my job to walk you out." I slid off the gurney and let me feet hit the ground one foot at a time for fear I would be dizzy. When I convinced myself I was all right I slowly walked hand in hand with the lady to the waiting area. "Girl, you sure got a nice looking set of boys waiting out here for you." She pushed open the door and I saw all three of my brothers sitting together in the hallway looking exhausted.

Sodapop looked my way and called out with relief. "Scout!" He jumped to his feet, ran down the hall, and wrapped his arms around me. "You're OK! Gosh, Darry and I don't know whether to kiss you or skin you!"

"I'll take the kiss." I told him and buried my face into the crook of his neck. He smelled good.

Darry jogged down the hall and grabbed a hold of me. "Sissy…" That's all he could muster before he broke into tears. I hugged him tight and looked over at Ponyboy who had joined us.

"Pony… I was so worried you were dead." I cried as hard as Darry while Ponyboy assured me he was fine.

The scene at the hospital was overwhelming as reporters and photographers showed up to be the first to get the heroic story. The four of us posed for our picture over a dozen times and a handful of reporters continued to ask us the same questions over and over again. By the end of the night my head ached worse, my voice was nearly gone and all I wanted was to go home and go to bed, which we finally did after Darry talked alone with the police one last time. Those private conversations made me nervous. Anything that couldn't be said around us couldn't be good.

The four of us squeezed into the cab of the truck and Darry commented that if Ponyboy and I got any bigger Sodapop was going to have to ride in the back. I joked with Soda that it didn't bother Ponyboy and I that he may need to ride in the truck box. On the drive home I crawled onto Soda's lap and Ponyboy fell asleep between our two brothers. Pony must have been real tired because none of us could wake him up when we got home. Darry finally gave up trying and had to carry him into the house and put him to bed.

With the strong odor of smoke still trapped in my hair I changed into my pajamas and climbed into my own bed. At first I tossed and turned but couldn't sleep even though I was tired. Images of the fire kept running through my head as if the incident were a movie. Each time I could hear Johnny's terrified scream for help. At one point the image of being trapped inside the church with Dallas was so strong that my body felt overwhelmed with heat and I had to kick off my covers to cool down. After the visual memories faded voices took their place. The one that kept me awake was the doctor's "… _If_ he lived he'd be crippled for life…" Even though I had seen Johnny trapped under the burning timber I couldn't seem to believe the prognosis. Finally I decided I didn't like being in my room alone, so I grabbed my pillow and quilt and tiptoed into Soda and Pony's room. It was there, on the floor next to Ponyboy, I felt the most comfortable as I fell asleep fast on the hardwood floor.

The early morning sun woke me as it peeked through the window blinds. Above me I heard Ponyboy stir in his bed. "Ponyboy? Are you awake?" I whispered.

"Yeah," Pony said quietly then rolled to look down at me, resting his cheek on the edge of the bed. "What are you doing down there?"

"Couldn't seem to sleep without you." I smiled lightly then remembered my fear from the middle of the night. "Last night I had a nightmare …how'bout you? Did you have one?"

Ponyboy paused I could tell in his eyes that he did even before he told me so. "Yeah, but I don't remember what about. Scared me so bad I almost didn't fall back to sleep."

I looked at my brother and talked just above a whisper so I didn't wake Sodapop. "Did you have nightmares at the church?"

Ponyboy's eyes drifted away in thought before returning to look into my eyes. "No, not that I remember. I do remember dreaming a lot about home. Things like playing football, hanging out in the lot with Soda, Sandy, Darry and..." Ponyboy stopped his description at the site of my eyes growing wide. "What?"

"Pony, Sandy aint here no more."

"What do you mean?" Ponyboy furrowed his brow. His dark eye brows contrasted with his bleach blond hair.

"Her family sent her to live with her grandmother in Florida." I reached under my head and fluffed my pillow up.

"Florida? Why Florida?"

I rolled my eyes because Pony didn't get the gist of the story. "Pony she got pregnant. Soda wanted to marry her, but she didn't want anything to do with him. It wasn't even his baby."

"Wow." Ponyboy simply said as he momentarily picked up his head to look at Sodapop who was still asleep. Pony laid his head back down and asked. "How'd Soda take it?"

"Not well. He was crushed, but he wouldn't let nobody know it but me and Darry." I took a moment and thought about the past week. So much had happened at home that Ponyboy didn't know about. "Pony it was pretty miserable around here without you. I couldn't eat or sleep or think. In fact I haven't done a lick of homework all week. We're both gonna have a lot of work to do on Monday."

"You aint done your school work? What'd Darry have to say about that?"

"Nothing, he doesn't know yet. He was so upset every night that he never asked once about my homework. I think his mind was preoccupied with worrying about all of us." I sighed heavy and stared at the ceiling. "I was a mess, Sandy broke Sodapop's heart, and with you gone and in trouble I don't know how Darry ever got some sleep." I looked my brother in the eyes. "He cried every night…and most of the mornings. He really does love you Ponyboy."

"I know that now." There was a long pause as we both thought about how good to us Darry really was then Ponyboy had another question. "Scout, how did you end up with Dallas yesterday?"

"Well, I got sick of waiting for you to come home so I decided to go look for you." I flashed a clever smile and cocked an eyebrow. "I had a good hunch Dally would lead me right to you so Friday morning I followed him."

"How did you know Dally knew where we were?"

"Early in the week Sodapop went to talk to Dallas after the cops let him go. Soda found your sweatshirt in Dally's room at Buck's place."

"Oh, but how did you convince Dally to bring you to where we were hiding?"

"I told him I would follow him day and night and never leave him alone. He must have believed me because he gave in real easy and let me come with." My mind drifted off to the church all alone on the top of Jay Mountain. "Was it scary being at the church?'

"Yeah, sometimes. You know me, I don't like being alone too much unless I'm reading or at a movie or something."

"Did ya'll have food?" I asked as questions popped into my head about how the two boys survived.

"Dallas gave us fifty bucks so Johnny bought us some groceries before our descriptions hit the papers." Ponyboy made a sick expression with his face. "We had baloney nearly everyday. Johnny liked it but after one day I could barely stand it."

"What did you do all day?"

"Talked, played cards… Johnny bought the book Gone With The Wind so I read that out loud. I love that book." Pony said and glanced over at the stack of books on his desk that he loved almost as much.

My mind wandered to the past. "That sure was some fire."

"Yeah." Pony said with similar memories in his head.

"I'm proud of you." I looked up at my brother as the sunlight grew stronger in the room. "I don't think I would have had the same courage to run in there to save those kids if you and Johnny hadn't gone in there first."

"You would of. Hell anyone of us in this family would have." Pony declared and we fell silent just long enough to hear Darry's footsteps in the hall coming to wake Sodapop for work.

Our brother came in through the door and walked around to Ponyboy's side of the bed almost stepping on me. "Scout, what are you doing down there?"

"I wanted to sleep next to Ponyboy." I smiled and Darry smiled back at the two of us. Not just a normal smile. It was one of those pride filled smiles you would see on the face of a father.

"It sure is good to have you home Ponyboy." Darry rubbed the tattered mess of blond hair on Pony's head. "That goes for you too Sissy! From now on I don't want no one in this family running off. You two understand? There is no need for that. There's nothing we can't get through as a family, we've proven that!" Darry's voice was stern but the smile on his face told us he was trying to be gentle, the way our dad always was.

"Ok Darry." I spoke for Pony and I.

"Good. Now the two of you oughtta get out of bed and take a shower. Neither one of you smell too good." Darry smiled wide at his joke. We couldn't help but laugh along because Darry wasn't known in the family for being funny. Our oldest brother stood up and looked at Sodapop. "Make it quick cause Soda's gonna need to shower too if I can pry him out of bed."

A shower sounded like a good idea so Ponyboy and I headed to the bathroom. As we walked through the kitchen I could see Ponyboy rubbing hard at his forehead. "Are you ok?" I asked.

Ponyboy looked back at me. His eyes told me not to ask again because he was lying. "Yeah, I'm ok." In the bathroom Ponyboy grabbed his toothbrush and ran water across the bristles while I started the water for my shower. I always showered first since it took so long for my hair to dry.

"You gonna tell Darry about your nightmare?" Ponyboy didn't answer immediately so I encouraged him to trust our brother a little more. "You know he'll wanna know."

"Yeah, I'll tell him." Ponyboy said and wandered out of the bathroom to give me some privacy. I wouldn't care if he had stayed. It wasn't uncommon for us to all use the bathroom while someone else was in there. I guess that's what happens when you only have one bathroom and your family is close.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen 

I was lying on my bed staring out my window at Casey's old house when I heard Ponyboy yell from the kitchen. "I'm making eggs, anyone want some?" Soda didn't hear him because he was in the shower, Darry had already eaten and I yelled that I didn't want any as I walked into the kitchen to watch my brother cook. I sat on the padded kitchen chair and laid my sleepy head on the table just as a knock came at the front door. I could tell by the voice it was Two-Bit. I didn't move because he knew his way in.

"Ponyboy Curtis!" Two-Bit yelled as he and Steve stormed into the kitchen, hootin', hollerin', and causing a ruckus. Steve had the morning paper folded in his hand and he whacked me over the head with it.

"Scout Marie, I'm surprised Darry and Soda didn't kill ya for running away yesterday morning." Steve joked with a wide smile on his face. "Good thing you're a superstar now!"

"I didn't run away," I said simply while I watched Two-Bit stare at Pony's new hair color.

"Look at the blond headed monkey."

"I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it in the newspaper." Steve turned toward Ponyboy and handed him the newspaper. "Hey, tell me Ponyboy, what's it like being a hero? You know, like a big shot even?"

My brother ignored the questions and took the paper in his hands. I hopped to my feet and read the article over Ponyboy's shoulder, this time he didn't mind. The story explained the school picnic, the fire, and how grateful parents were to have their children's lives saved. The journalist wrote about Johnny being wanted for manslaughter and the later part of the article was all about us, the Curtis family. Ponyboy beat me to the part about the possibility of being put in a boys' home, and he walked away slamming the paper down on the dinning room table. "You know they're thinking of putting us in a boys' home? Aint no way they're putting me in a boys' home..." I heard Ponyboy say and walk off to the bathroom. I picked up the paper and returned to my kitchen chair to read the remainder of the article.

"Hell Ponyboy, they don't do that to heroes." Steve followed after him asking where Soda and Darry were.

Two-Bit plopped down in the kitchen chair across the table from me. "You don't look so good this morning."

"I'm fine," I sighed and realized I wasn't going to be able to finish the article as long as the house was full of people. "Just tired, and a little sick from all the smoke yesterday."

"Speaking of yesterday," Two-Bit looked at me with seriousness in his eye that was rarely seen. "I thought you should know you nearly killed poor Sodapop with grief, and I don't know how Darry made it through the day."

Not knowing which part of the day worried them the most I had to ask. Two-Bit looked at me like I was dumb. "All of it! We showed up to take you to school and the two of them were bawling on the couch. Soda had your note clutched in his hand. Steve had to force it from Soda's grip and read it just to find out what was wrong. Your brothers wanted to take off and go lookin' for ya, but ya didn't tell them you were going with Dally. Hell, no one wouldda guessed that."

A frown crowded my face. "I knew they wouldn't be happy, but I couldn't just sit around here anymore and wait."

"Yeah but you could have told someone. Hell, you could have told me! I would have skipped out of school and gone with you." Two-Bit's words were sincere. "I don't think it bothered them so much you went looking for Pony, I just think it scared them you were alone… and that they might never see you again too."

I smiled back at the young man. "I had never considered going with you, in hind sight maybe that would have been a better plan."

"Damn straight!" Two-Bit reached across the table and playfully slapped me on the cheek. He was awfully happy to have everyone back in Tulsa again.

The two of us got up from the table and walked into the dining room to see what Darry and Ponyboy were talking about. I heard Pony's voice. "I had one of those dreams last night." The whole house fell quiet and Pony lied to Two-Bit that his nightmare hadn't been too bad. I decided not to call my brother on that. It was a good thing too because Sodapop waltzed in to the room announcing his party plans for when he and the rest of the guys stomped the Socs into the ground and settled the feud once and for all.

Darry turned around to see Ponyboy wander outside to the porch so he called him back inside. "Pony?…Pony?" Ponyboy came back to find out what Darry wanted. "Ya' know maybe I oughtta take the day off."

Not wanting to spend the day with Darry looming over him Ponyboy assured Darry everyone would be fine. "We can afford that. Besides Scout'll be with me."

"Yeah, I know." Darry looked at me with a continued expression of concern. "Yeah, but the two of you just got back from the hospital, I really oughtta stay…"

"Don't worry'bout it Darry." Two-Bit said with a grin. "I'll babysit'em for ya." Ponyboy tried to take a swing at his friend and only ended up pinned to the floor gasping for breath while Steve chided Two-Bit for being lazy and not working for his living.

"Two-Bit lay off!" Darry ordered with a smile. "He aint looking so good." Darry pulled Ponyboy up from the floor then turned to me. "Here Scout," He handed me a few dollars as he headed out the door for work. "You and Pony do up the dishes then you can go to a movie or something before seeing Johnny if you want." I smiled back at him as thanks. He disappeared out the front door with Soda and Steve in tow.

"Come on let's clean up the house…" Ponyboy called out. I helped my brother, but Two-Bit just argued that our house wasn't messy. He spent the better part of an hour watching us clean while he rattled on, telling tale tales, and sharing his philosophy on life.

We all decided to skip seeing a movie and headed out straight for the hospital. Once we hit the main road Two-Bit preferred to hitch a ride rather than walk. With every passing car he stuck his thumb out and I secretly prayed the driver wouldn't pull over. I hated the idea of hitching a ride and being in a car with complete strangers. Two-Bit hated the idea of getting passed by, so with every car that ignored us he would flip them the bird. Each time I saw that I wanted to crawl under a manhole cover and hide with embarrassment. We were half way to the hospital when Ponyboy looked behind us at a tuff blue Ford Mustang, then his eyes began to panic. Two-Bit recognized the car and knew there was trouble.

"Come on," Two-Bit pushed us toward the Tasty-Freeze, "Let's get some Cokes."

I stayed close to my brother as we hustled up to the door of the diner. Right before we went in Two-Bit changed his mind and reached for Pony. "Wait a second… let's see what they want."

"Why do you want to see what they want?" Ponyboy asked as I looked at my brother's nervous expression and the exact opposite on Two-Bit's face. Trying to realize Two-Bit's change of plans I scanned the parking lot and noticed two members of Sheppard's gang parked nearby. I looked back at Two-Bit and knew he was confident he had enough backup to handle the Socs if things got rough.

Two-Bit's confidence rang clear in his voice as the four Socs got out of their car and headed towards us. "No jazz before the rumble. You know the rules ape face."

"We know that." The tall black haired soc said then turned his beady eyes on my brother. "I want to talk to you."

My eye's widened and I grabbed a hold of Pony's sweatshirt. I didn't want him to go with the soc. A list of 'what ifs' ran through my head as Ponyboy pulled loose from my grip and walked over to the Mustang and began a conversation with the boy who drove Johnny to murder.

The tension outside the Tasty Freeze lightened up as Skibby and Tim Sheppard's best friend Weasel climbed out of their car. The Socs stood around in their tight sweaters and khaki pants as Two-Bit began his montage of sarcastic comments. His wit even made me laugh and loosen my worries as Ponyboy stepped out of the Soc's car and walked back to join us.

"So what'd Mr. Super-Soc have to say?" Two-Bit was still smiling from his jokes.

"He aint a soc. He's just a guy who wanted to talk." Ponyboy said and kept quiet. I didn't push for more information but I hoped Pony would tell me later. There was a lot about the last seven days I was hoping Ponyboy would tell me about.

The guys from Sheppard's gang gave us a ride the rest of the way to the hospital, we rode the elevator to the floor Johnny was on, and Two-Bit led us to the nurse's station. "What room to see Johnny Cade."

The nurse looked up and noticed we were just greasy kids. "Sorry he can't have any visitors, doctor's orders."

Two-Bit smiled. "We're friends of his and we…"

The nurse shared no sympathy as she interrupted. "He can't have any visitors, doctor's orders."

Two-Bit, Ponyboy and I couldn't believe our friend needed us and we couldn't see him. Desperate, the three of us began to beg and plead for the nurse to let us in. We must have caused a bit of a commotion because we caught the attention of a doctor whose comment to his nurse turned my stomach. "Let them go in. He's been asking for them. It can't hurt now."

I walked into Johnnycake's hospital room behind Two-Bit and my brother. My mind expected an image of him greeting us with a nervous smile and those big black eyes would stare at us from behind his long greasy bangs. When I got to his bedside my thought couldn't have been further from the truth. Johnny was lying there, burned and weak. Gone were his greasy bangs, and his eyes were closed and peaceful. I wondered briefly if he had already passed away. Tears rolled silently down my cheeks.

"Hey Johnnycake." Two-Bit cooed and Johnny's eyes came open.

Weakly he spoke his greeting. "Hey ya'll." Hearing his voice gave me hope and I wiped the tears from my cheeks so Johnny wouldn't see them and worry. Two-Bit did most of the talking. He was sure to check and see that everyone at the hospital was treating him well, to let him know about the rumble and then about the article in the paper. Johnny seemed most proud of that, it isn't often a group of greasers' get a positive write up in the newspaper.

"You need anything besides grease?" Two-Bit asked and made a mental note of things to bring Johnny tomorrow.

"The book, can ya'll get me another?" Johnny breathlessly spoke.

I looked at Ponyboy for an answer and Ponyboy looked to Two-Bit. "He wants a copy of _Gone with the Wind_ so I can read it to him. Can you go get a copy?"

"Ok, don't ya'll run off," Two-Bit said cheerfully and left the room. Ponyboy moved over to Two-Bit's spot at Johnny's side. I stayed across the bed trying not to speak. I knew if I did there would be no way I could keep my tears inside.

Ponyboy started with simple conversation telling Johnny about Dally's condition and that he and Darry were getting along better. Simple conversation quickly changed as Johnny winced in pain and told Ponyboy that he knew he was pretty bad off. Pony tried to discount the truth of our friend's condition, but Johnny knew better. Emotions clogged my throat and I had to back away to the doorway to hide from Johnny while Pony held back tears.

"Johnny your mother's here to see you." The nurse's voice made me jump. My eyes widened in shock. I had never thought Johnny's mother would care enough about him to be by his side. Johnny didn't believe it either. Instead of welcoming his mother he pleaded for the nurse to tell her to go away. Our friend struggled to sit up and the effort nearly killed him as he passed out cold. I looked across the room at Ponyboy for an answer. Was he dead? The nurse ran to Ponyboy and hustled him out the door along with me. Just outside we ran into Two-Bit in the hall.

"You can't see him now." The nurse said to answer the question in Two-Bit's eyes.

Two-Bit handed her the book. "Make sure he can see this when he comes around. The nurse agreed and closed the door as the pain of the situation finally flowed out of our friend while he stared at the hospital room door. "I wish it was anyone of us but Johnny. We could get along with out anyone but Johnny."

I heard the words and knew he spoke for some of the gang, but not my brothers or me. In one respect my family was our own little gang, bound by blood and history. Two-Bit loved Johnny like a brother and to lose him would be like me losing Ponyboy. I knew how painful that was, so I kept my opinion quiet.

As we walked through the halls we passed by Johnny's mother who was ranting about not being able to see her son. She loudly blamed us for being hoodlums and ruining her son's life. As the shrill words left her mouth I grabbed onto Ponyboy's hand and he squeezed it hard. I could see the anger in his eyes and I was sure he was going to stop walking and finally tell the woman how he felt about her, but Two-Bit interrupted.

"No wonder he hates your guts." Two-Bit glared angrily and was ready to approach Johnny's mom when Ponyboy pushed him along. I was relieved Ponyboy did that or Two-Bit would be sure to have started something. Our friend turned to walk away and muttered. "I can't believe he has to live with that!"

Two-Bit's words spoke volumes. Images filled my mind of how horrible Johnny's life would become if he ever recovered and had to go home a cripple. He already took a pretty bad beating from his parents. What would happen if he couldn't protect himself or get away to the vacant lot or our house? Darry and Sodapop already had their hands full with Ponyboy and I. There was no way they could afford to take Johnny in too. My thoughts made me feel even more miserable as we walked into Dally's hospital room and found him arguing with the nurse.

"Get out of here!" Dally ordered the woman.

"I'll be so glad when you're gone." The nurse mumbled as she left. I had a pretty good idea how she felt. There aren't too many people in this world that can tolerate Dallas Winston and his antics.

Dallas chased after the nurse and slammed the hospital room door shut, wearing only his underwear. "I want out!"

To my relief, Dally climbed back into bed and pulled the bed sheet up before conversing with Two-Bit about the day's events. I backed up and sat on the edge of the other hospital bed with Ponyboy, who wasn't looking so well. He looked even worse as Two-Bit told Dally about how bad Johnny's condition was.

"Ya got that knife?" Dallas asked out of the blue.

My eyes grew wide as Two-Bit flipped out the blade of his prized switchblade and handed it over to Dallas.

Dally's eyes grew to ice as he turned away from his friends. "You know we've got to win that fight! We gotta get in with those Socs!" Dally violently stabbed at the bed. "Do it for Johnny! We'll do it for Johnny!"

Everyone in the room could feel the anger and hurt in Dally's words and no one was eager to stay and visit. We said our quiet goodbyes and Two-Bit even left without his knife.

Outside the hospital, Two-Bit decided we would ride the bus home. "We need to save our strength for the rumble."

Ponyboy and I liked the idea of not walking home, so we didn't argue. Waiting on the bench at the bus stop, Ponyboy's skin grew pale and he looked like he could pass out. Two-Bit put his hand to my brother's forehead.

"You feeling OK Ponyboy, you feel kind of hot."

"I'm alright," Pony stayed sitting in a slump. "I'll take a bunch of aspirins when I get home. Be a pal and don't tell Darry, okay Two-Bit?"

"Alright, but Darry'll kill me if you're sick and you go ahead and fight anyway."

"Keep your trap shut and he won't find nothing out!" Ponyboy barked and then looked at me. "And that goes for you too!"

My facial expression growled back at my brother. "I never said I'd say a thing!" I snapped back. "What is your problem all of a sudden?" Then I remembered that none of Pony's problems were 'all of a sudden'.

Two-Bit interrupted our argument and the bus pulled up, "You know the only thing that keeps Darry from being a soc is us?"

"Yeah, I know." Pony shrugged.

Two-Bit looked over at me as I stood up. "He aint the only one who could easily be a soc."

"What's that suppose to mean?" I glared back.

"Means I think you're more of a soc than a greaser." Two-Bit handed me some change for the bus. "Admit it Scout, you make a lousy greaser chick." I couldn't argue with him, so I didn't.

We sat down together in the back of the bus and Ponyboy laid his head against the window. "Tonight… I don't like it one bit."

"We're gonna beat those Socs and everything is going to be all right." Two-Bit said missing the real worry Ponyboy had.

**Author's note:** I am wondering if the readers have a vision in their head yet about Scout's involvement in the rumble. It is a pivotal part of the book and I am not sure how I see it myself. I welcome all opinions. Thanks, Erinskie


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen **

Two-Bit, Ponyboy and I exited the bus and headed straight to the DX station to buy some Cokes and to visit Sodapop and Steve. We walked up and Sodapop came out to greet us. "Hey ya'll how are Johnny and Dallas doing?"

I looked over at Ponyboy who shrugged and looked over to let Two-Bit answer the question. "Dally's gonna be fine. I think they'll probably kick him out of there before he's healthy enough to go." Two-Bit frowned. "Johnny aint doing too well. They didn't tell us much, but he looks pretty bad."

Hearing Two-Bit's voice, Steve walked out of the garage to listen into the conversation. A disappointed look filled Soda's face. "Is he doing any better than yesterday?"

Two-Bit shrugged and looked away. "I don't know. He heard his mother had come to the hospital to nag on him and he got so upset he passed out. Nurse wouldn't let us see him after that."

"His mother went to see him?" Steve said, squinting into the sun.

"Yeah," Two-Bit held the door to the DX station open for everyone to go inside. "That woman sure is a piece of work. She don't spend ten minutes being nice to him in the last sixteen years and she can't figure out why he don't want to see her."

"Johnny said that?" Sodapop asked. My brother was proud that Johnny had stuck up for himself.

"That's what he said, right Pony?" Two-Bit looked over at Ponyboy who had pulled himself a Pepsi out of the cooler. Pony nodded and Two-Bit grabbed a Coke for himself. "I don't think the nurses were gonna let her see him either. Don't know for sure though cause we went off to see Dally."

"Man…" Steve said and shook his head. "It just aint fair, ya know? Johnny aint never done nothing to nobody for sixteen years and now all of this happens." No one spoke after Steve's comments, mainly because there was nothing to say. We all just paid for our drinks and Ponyboy and Two-Bit decided to head home.

"Come on Scout let's get going." Pony said and turned to leave.

For some reason I just didn't want to go home. I guess I had too much on my mind. I knew if I was home all I could do would be think about it, so I looked over at Sodapop. "Sodapop can I stick around here till you're off work?"

"Sure," Soda smiled. He never had a problem with Ponyboy and me hanging around the station with him. Sometimes it bothered Steve, but I never really concerned myself with the things that bothered Steve.

"Suit yourself." Two-Bit said to let me know he had heard I wasn't going home with them. "See ya'll tonight before the rumble." Two-Bit slightly pushed Ponyboy in the back to get him moving out the door. I watched from the window as the two walked down the street toward the park and disappeared from sight.

Steve went back into the garage to finish the engine repair he was working on and fancy newer white Chrysler Imperial coupe rolled up to the gas pump ringing the air bell. With a wide, charming smile Sodapop headed out to greet the four Soc girls in the car. Not caring to be noticed I stepped outside and sat down on the curb by the station garage door. All four of the girls climbed out of the car to be in awe of Sodapop's good looks.

The driver walked close to my brother and asked. "We're gonna run inside and get us some Cokes, okay?" She was a pretty girl dressed in a red skirt and white sweater.

"Sure thing." He smiled back with a toothpick clenched between his teeth. "I'll be right here waitin' for ya." His comment made each of the girls giggle. He turned with a smile and winked at me as they headed to the door of station. I could tell my brother had mastered the art of flirting.

"Who wants a Coke? My dad's buying." The driver asked then counted up the amount of drinks she needed to buy. She disappeared inside the station leaving the three other girls to converse just a few feet from me. I couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation.

"See I told you he was gorgeous!" A girl with a black haired ponytail bragged.

"Could you imagine what your dad would say if you brought him to brunch at the club?" A shorter auburn haired girl teased and threw a glance to Sodapop who was admiring the girls as much as they were admiring him. "My dad would surely throw me out! But it might be worth it!"

The driver of the car walked out of the station with three bottles of Coke and joined her friends. "Ok girls, show's over." She said sarcastically and the crowd walked back to their car. The girls leaned on the car while the driver paid for her gas and drinks, and second carload of kids pulled up on the other side of the gas pumps.

The driver of the Chevy convertible yelled to the Soc girls. "Hey Rachel! What are you girls doing?"

"Not much…" I heard the driver say then the conversation grew muffled as the kids gathered behind the Chevy. I could easily label all of them as Socs because of the girl's fine clothes and boy's lettermen jackets. I eyed the group with a hint of jealousy. They seemed to be enjoying their day without a care. I couldn't say the same about myself.

I studied Sodapop as he took care of his new customer's car. I could tell my brother had no feelings of inferiority as he stood smiling amongst the group. One broad shouldered boy caught my attention as he threw his head back with laughter. I could tell he was often the center of attention as the girls, in their pretty skirts, pawed at him for any ounce of affection in return.

Two-Bit's words entered my mind. "You could be a Soc…" I answered the memory with my thoughts. _Anyone in my family could have been a Soc if we had grown up on the right side of town. Even Sodapop with his good looks could have made it through high school as a Soc on charm alone_. I cleared my mind and glanced up at the popular blond boy a second time only to have him catch me looking. Immediately I turned my head away as if I was interested in the passing traffic. Then I peeked back towards the group to find the boy's full attention as he walked towards me.

I watched him approach. I could tell through his fancy clothes and jacket that he was muscular and athletic. "Scout, right?" He took one hand out of the pocket of his jacket and casually pointed at me. He stopped in front of me and I looked up at him. I remembered those beautiful blue eyes. It was Owen Jasper from the cemetery. I half smiled as my stomach turned nervous. "Yeah," I said quietly and thought about the ratty jeans and old sweater I was wearing.

Owen plopped down on the curb next to me as if we were good friends. "You weren't in school Friday like you said you'd be."

I remembered the day he dropped me off at my house. I told him I would see him at school the next day. "Yeah… I kind of made other plans."

"I'll say! I read about you in the newspaper this morning." Owen looked across the lot at his friends then back to me. "I bet your mom and dad would have been real proud of you. I know my parents sure were."

"Really?"

"Sure! They said those little children didn't stand a chance till you four showed up to rescue them. They thought so much of you that I even told them that I knew you just to be part of their conversation!" Owen laughed a little then looked directly at me. "I told them I kind of liked you too."

"Shut up!" I blushed and looked over at Owen's friends. I could tell by their body language they were trying to figure out who I was and why Owen had left them to talk to me. I dropped my head to stare at the concrete between my feet. "You don't even know me."

The boy looked back at me, and a light wind wisped through his blond bangs. "That's not entirely true. I know you're really smart, have a good heart, and a beautiful smile." I blushed even harder as the words lifted my spirits.

"O!" The tall redheaded boy in the Lettermen's jacket called out. "We got plenty of girls! Let's go!"

Owen looked at me with his ocean blue eyes, "I gotta go. We've got plans for tonight." The boy stood up and looked down at me one last time. "I better see you at school on Monday!"

I stood up and looked into his eyes, "you can count on it." I told him with a smile.

He walked backwards a few steps to keep me in his sights, "you better be there or I'll be pretty disappointed," then he turned and jogged back to his friends. He hopped into the backseat of the convertible and a few girls piled in around him hoping for attention. My heart fluttered with excitement and I couldn't wait for the weekend to be over.

As the two cars pulled away Sodapop walked across the lot towards me. "What'd you and Owen have to talk about?" My brother and I continued walking into the garage where Steve was working on a car.

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. "How do you know his name?"

"Scout!" Sodapop almost shouted. "That's Owen Jasper. He's one of the best football players in the city, hell… maybe even the state!"

Steve pulled his head out from under the hood to join the conversation. "Jasper? I heard that kid has had looks from a handful of colleges who want him to play for them. He's even a better player than Darry was."

Sodapop leaned up against the car Steve was repairing. "I betcha Darry knows who Owen Jasper is."

"Of course he does," Steve said matter of fact. " Jasper's been playing on the varsity squad since the ninth grade. Plus he's president of his class again this year."

I looked at the two boys and thought of Owen's perfect smile, blue eyes, and sighed. "Well I don't care who he is… he's cute."

Steve looked up from his engine and drawled. "No offense Scout, but he is way out of your league."

I furrowed my brow and challenged. "What are you talking about?"

"It's simple." Steve said and pushed his hands back into the greasy engine. "He's a Soc and you're a greaser."

I looked over at Soda to see if he was planning to side with Steve or me. "I'm not a greaser!" I remarked, as if being a greaser was a bad thing to be. "Besides Two-Bit just said a few hours ago I could easily be a Soc, just like Darry could."

Steve stood up and grabbed the top edge of the open car hood. "You may have the grades and the pretty looks, but you were born on the wrong side of town, and you aint got the money." Steve said with cockiness in his voice.

I threw a glance over to my brother who had his hands shoved into the pockets of his blue jeans just like me. "Don't worry Scout. Someday you, Darry and Ponyboy will all make fine Socs."

I grinned back at my brother. "Yeah… and when I do I'm taking you with me." Soda lightheartedly grabbed me around the neck, pulling me away from the car and smiled at the thought that someday one of the Curtis kids would be able to pull the rest of us out of the North side of town and into the lap of luxury.

"Hey ya'll!" A voice called from outside as Steve slammed the car hood. In walked Ronnie, the second shift station attendant. "You boys ready to call it a day?"

"Yeah!" Soda sang out, "Let's go on home."

"We got some butt stomping to do tonight!" Steve hollered with joy as he wiped his greasy hands in a half clean rag. Together we walked out of the station down to the street where Steve's car was parked. All three of us crowded into the front seat and Steve drove my brother and I home.

The two of us walked into our house and found Darry setting two cooked chickens on the table. "Where's Ponyboy?" Soda and I exchanged a question filled glance and I answered.

"We don't know, he left the DX over an hour ago with Two-Bit."

"Oh." Strangely, Darry didn't seem to mind our brother's absence and we all sat down for dinner. "Did Steve go home to get cleaned up?" Darry asked his little buddy.

"Yeah, he's gonna go eat at Evie's house then head back here." Sodapop said and dropped a mountain of mashed potatoes onto his plate. The sound of the front door squeaking open drew our attention and Soda called out. "Hey Ponyboy, where ya been?"

The scene was an eerie reminder of what had happened in our home a little over a week ago. I held my breath and stared at Darry. Ponyboy shut the front door behind him and nervously wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"Why don't you get on over here?" Darry said without a hint of anger in his voice. "Dinner's getting cold." I exhaled in relief that Ponyboy and Darry chose not to argue. Pony picked at his dinner, but I ate up! For the first time in a week dinner tasted good to me. I was so happy to have everyone home again.

"I'm showering first!" Soda called out with food in his mouth. He wanted to be sure he had plenty of time to make himself look good for the rumble in a few hours.

"Okay, I'll go second, Ponyboy, you go last." Darry directed, then looked at me. "Scout, you're gonna stay home during the rumble."

I looked back at him while the fright of the comment covered my face. "No way!" I yelled out thinking Darry should have known better. "I aint staying here alone in this house!"

Darry looked back at me half worried and half annoyed that I wouldn't just stay home so he had one less thing to be troubled with. The way I saw it he should worry about me no matter where I was and right now I preferred to be where my brothers were, so I was going too!

Author's note: Special thanks to volleyballlover for beta-reading my chapters.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen 

Ponyboy and I washed the dishes after dinner while Sodapop took a shower. As I finished up the last pan, Darry stuck his head through the kitchen door. I looked over at him and he told me he needed to talk with me in his bedroom. Darry walked away and I looked to my twin. Our eyes met, subconsciously saying, now what's wrong.

I dried my hands on the tattered dishtowel and walked into Darry's room. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at him. Darry reached over and shut the bedroom door for privacy then his blue eyes met with mine. "Scout, you're not going with us to the rumble. You're staying here and I don't want any arguments." Darry noticed me take a breath to respond, so he threw up his hand to stop my words. "Rumbles are tough, and they are no place for a girl. Savvy?"

I pleaded for my brother to consider more options. "Darry, just let me go along, I aint going to fight. I just want to be there. Besides, I've been to rumbles before."

"Sure you've been to some small neighborhood fights, but this is a different kind of fight. There's gonna be a lot of rough boys there on both sides and Soda and I aren't going to be able to keep a close eye on you. I really want you to stay home."

"What about Ponyboy?" I asked, thinking the two youngest children in the household should be considered equal.

"Scout," Darry's blue eyes held a special concern as he leaned down in front of me, "you're my little sister. Things are just different with you. If something were to happen, I couldn't forgive myself. I can't see you hurt the way I have before. I don't want to go through that again."

I blinked the surprise from my eyes as Darry inadvertently told me how much he cared for me. I didn't have a good reason to argue, other then my fear of the unknown, so I didn't. "Okay Darry…I'll stay behind so you don't have to worry."

"Thanks Sis," A smile graced Darry's face and he patted me lightly on the shoulder.

I stood up and walked out of his bedroom as Steve walked in through the front door with an ear to ear grin. "Hey Sissy! Bet you are glad you're not a Soc tonight cause we are going to pound their heads in something good!"

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my sweatshirt and spoke slowly. "I never said I wanted to be a Soc."

Steve wasn't listening. "Where's Soda at?"

"I think he's in the bathroom."

Sodapop yelled from behind me. "No I'm not!" My brother sauntered into the dining room.

"Look here buddy!" Steve raised his hand to show a deck of cards. "I brought my own deck of cards. We aren't using that cheatin' deck of yours."

"You calling me a cheater?" Soda asked with a laugh.

"Yes I am!" Steve responded. Not liking the answer, Sodapop ran toward his best friend throwing playful punches and trying to wrestle Steve to the ground. I watched for a few seconds then saw Darry go into the bathroom for his shower. Bored with the rough housing, I walked back to Ponyboy's bedroom to find him lying on his bed with his arm covering his eyes from the overhead light.

"Ponyboy you okay?"

"Yeah, I just got a headache." I reached over and flipped off the bright light. With only the light from the hall shining through the doorway Pony uncovered his eyes. "So what did Darry want?"

I sat down on the bed and rested my back against the headboard. "He aint going to let me go to the rumble, not even to watch."

"That aint so bad."

I looked down at my brother's pale face. "Yeah? Well, I think it is. I don't like being home alone anymore. It gives me the willies."

Pony turned his head in my direction and curled his lip a little. "Come on, you've stayed by yourself plenty of times."

I reached down and fiddled with the zipper on my hooded sweatshirt. "It's just different now. With all that's been happening…I spook myself so much."

Ponyboy sat up and looked at me with a devilish grin on his face. "Well, quick looking in the mirror so much and you won't get so scared!"

A grin filled my face as I reached behind me, picked up Sodapop's pillow and swung it at Pony. He grabbed it and hit me back. Then Darry called Ponyboy and told him it was his turn to shower. Ponyboy walked out of his room and I went to mine. I picked up a book from my bookcase and flopped down on my bed. It was Ponyboy's book of Robert Frost poetry; I had taken it from his room when he was missing. I read through a couple dozen poems trying to decipher their true meaning. I didn't understand or enjoy poetry as much as my twin, but I tried.

A while later I could hear Soda and Steve fighting again, so I walked out into the dining room to find the Steve dealing cards. In the living room Darry laid down on the floor to do some push ups before the rumble. I ran over to him and stood on his back. For years he had me stand on his back so he could lift more weight. He was sure strong as he continually raised me toward the ceiling and I struggled to keep my balance. Darry finished his workout and lightheartedly tossed me from his back then stood up to put his shirt on.

Ponyboy walked into the living room. "Darry, how come you like fights?" Darry didn't answer, but Sodapop piped up: "Cause he likes to show off his muscles."

"I'm gonna show'em off on you, little buddy, if you get any mouthier." Darry warned Soda then looked to Ponyboy and you could see the worry on his face. "Pony, I don't know if you ought to be in this rumble."

"Good idea!" I sang out from the couch and ignored Ponyboy's dirty look as he questioned Darry. "How come? I always come through before aint I?"

"Yeah," Darry said with a proud grin, "but you were in shape before and you aint looking so good. You're tensed up too much."

"Shoot!" Soda walked over and defended his little brother. "Everyone's tensed up before a rumble. Let him fight. He aint gonna get hurt. It's skin against skin."

My jaw dropped and my words were filled with jealousy. "Soda, why are you sticking up for Ponyboy to go to the rumble and not me?"

Two-Bit laughed out loud and Soda turned to me with his million dollar grin. "Cause you're a girl! Girls are supposed to only fight girls, and they only fight when they have to. Boys'll fight anywhere, any time and for any reason." I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, it'd be different if it were knives or chains or something." Ponyboy said to Darry, "I'll get a hold of a little one."

"Well," Darry rethought his earlier suggestion. "We'll need every man we can get." I threw my head back into the couch and realized my chances of being left home alone were now at one hundred percent.

"I'll be okay." Ponyboy said wearily and pointed to Sodapop. "How come you never worry about him so much?"

"Man," Darry grinned and put his arm around Soda's shoulder, "this is one kid brother I aint gotta worry about. This kid can use his head!"

Soda smiled with pride, playfully punched Darry in the ribs, and looked at Ponyboy with mock superiority, but Darry continued, "You can see he uses it for one thing, to grow hair on!" Darry grabbed his little buddy and rubbed his fist into Soda's well manicured hair.

The boys laughed and cheered as they followed Sodapop and Darry out the front door to the rumble. I trailed behind just in time to see Steve flip through the air and the boys whistle and shout as they walked down the middle of the street. Alone in the yard, I folded my arms across the cold bar of the fence and laid my head down on my hands. In less than a minute the boys had grown smaller and smaller then disappeared around a corner. I sighed heavy and looked to the sky. _Well Scout?_ I thought to myself. _Looks like it's just you and me and we better get used to it_.

I walked back up the steps to the porch and sat down on the bench underneath the living room window. The night was quiet. I pulled my sweatshirt closer to my body for warmth as my imagination began to worry me. I looked left then right into the darkness of the yard. _It's nothing Scout_, I said to myself again, _it's just the wind. Darry's right, Duke is behind bars and there is no one here to hurt me_. I smiled hoping that would trick my brain into calming my nerves.

I looked off toward the lot wondering what my brother's were doing. I wished Darry had let me go, at least to watch. Standing up, I looked through the front window into the house. The lights were still on in every room and I wondered dully why it was okay for my brothers to leave every light on, but Darry chewed me out for doing the same thing just over a week ago. Another strong Tulsa wind blew a chill of cold air across the porch, so I decided to wait in the living room for the gang to return. I pulled open the rusty storm door and stepped inside.

Outside a car engine roared up the street toward my house and the squealing of tires made my heart begin to pound with a fear of the unknown. I turned around to find Buck Merrill's Ford T-Bird outside and Dally whipping open the metal gate of the fence. I darted out the front door. "Dally! I thought you were suppose to stay at the hospital!"

"Where is everyone?" Dally ran up to meet me on the front porch and looked into the living room through the screen door.

I could sense the urgency in his voice. "Is Johnny all right?"

"Nah, he aint." Dally said hurriedly, his mind occupied with other things. Helooked down at me and asked again. "Where the boys at?"

"In the lot at the rumble." I said, wondering how Dally didn't figure that out.

"Let's go!" Dally grabbed tightly to my arm and pulled me down the porch steps and through the gate.

My tennis shoes pounded on the pavement as I ran up the street by Dally's side. As we neared the lot I questioned why Dally had pulled me to the rumble. Slowing, I fell back a few steps as Dally entered the lot. What was I doing here? What would Darry say? I wondered and stopped in the darkness by a row of trees. I bent forward, resting my hands on my knees, to catch my breath and looked up to watch Dally run across the hood of an abandoned car. My vision focused to see dozens of young men standing together. One side dark in drab colored shirts and dirty blue jeans. The others decked out in expensive light colored pants and shirts and sweaters of all colors.

"Starting a rumble aint a rumble without me!" Dally grabbed the attention of nearly everyone who was waiting for the rumble to begin.

Instantly, the turmoil began as the two sets of colors began to mesh together. The boys in the lot grabbed, punched, and kicked one another as they passed. In awe, my jaw dropped and my eyes searched for my brothers. Near the middle of the crowd I noticed Darry, standing tall. I watched as a Soc punched him hard. Darry stood strong and returned the action sending his recipient to the ground. A loud clap of thunder bellowed across the sky. I looked up and instantly the rain began to pour down.

I squinted through the drops and scanned the quickly dulling colors of the Socs. I wondered if the big plans Owen and his friends had were to be here tonight. No one looked like him, but there was no way to be sure.

In minutes the Socs and greasers were the same color, mud. Then the first boy began to flee to the safety of his high priced car. Others followed him and ran from the fight. I could hear the distinct sound of Steve's victory cry. As more Socs ran away from the rumble, a few stayed to finish the game. It was then that I saw Ponyboy lying on the ground. I could hear his hoarse voice screaming for Darry. My heart jumped and my feet almost did the same, but common sense stopped me. I knew better to run out there while the Socs were still throwing punches. I clearly remembered what those punches had felt like.

"They're running!" I heard a voice call, and I moved from the shadow of the trees to the side of the abandoned cars.

"We won! We won!" Another boy added to the victory screams.

In the distance I noticed Ponyboy sitting in the mud. I ran to his side and grabbed a handful of his wet sweatshirt. "Ponyboy are you all right?" Pony swayed while he sat and awkwardly shook his head yes. I was concerned by the bruises on his face and the trickle of blood that ran from the corner of his mouth.

"I got him!" Dally came up along side of us and hoisted Ponyboy to his feet.

Knowing Dallas could help Ponyboy home I walked into the crowd and became consumed by the group of muddy, cheering greasers. I weaved through their tall bodies looking for the familiar faces I wanted to find. In the middle, I found Steve, Sodapop and Two-Bit standing together.

Two-Bit looked over at me and smiled while the blood ran down his face. "Scout! When'd you decided to join us?"

Sodapop looked over at me and wrapped one of his exhausted arms around my shoulder. "Hey Sissy. Did you see us teach those Socs a lesson?"

"Yeah." I told my brother and grabbed his hand in mine. All of the boys were panting heavily with smiles on their faces.

"Sissy! I thought I told you to stay home?" Darry almost shouted as he came up behind us. I could tell he was still pumped up from the rumble.

"I thought I told you I was coming?" I good-naturedly sassed back and Two-Bit's laughed caused Darry to cease his argument.

"Where's Ponyboy?" Darry scanned the crowd.

"I saw Dally hauling him home a few minutes ago." I looked my oldest brother in the eyes.

The greasers and hoods parted ways and we headed back to our house. We walked down the street and each boy took their turn bragging about their accomplishments from the rumble. "Sissy, did you see the way we kicked those bastards right out of here?" Now maybe things will change around the neighborhood." Two-Bit flashed a glance at me and cocked his eyebrow to remind me of the past. "No more getting jumped on your way home from the bus stop."

I cracked half a smile and dashed away his optimism. "Do you really thing they'll stop coming around just cause they lost in the rumble."

"Hell yeah!" Steve joined into the discussion. "That's the agreement."

"I sure hope they feel that way." I said with doubt in my voice. We got back to our house and Buck's T-Bird was nowhere to be found.

"Where do you think Pony and Dally are?" Steve asked.

"Dallas said Johnny wasn't doing so well…" I said as the gloom fell across the boys' faces. We all knew things weren't good for Johnny, but the truth hadn't sunk in completely till we saw Ponyboy walk in through the front door hours later.

"Where have you been?" Darry slowly rose from his chair and noticed a strange look on our brother's face. "Ponyboy, what's the matter?"

Ponyboy looked worse than any of the guys who were in the rumble. I could tell from the redness in his eyes and the way his hands were shaking that the next words out if his mouth were going to be bad.

Ponyboy spoke softly. "Johnny's dead…"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter seventeen 

The news of Johnnycake's death surged numbness through my body. My mouth dropped open as I stared at Ponyboy. He held back tears then backed away as Soda attempted to comfort him. I couldn't find the words or emotions to deal with the news. Johnny was a tough kid. He had gotten through hard times before and I figured he'd get through this. For a long time I sat on the floor in shock. Noises and voices from the room swirled around inside my head until the shrill sound of the telephone ringing rattled me back to the present. I stood up, frightened by who might be calling. Darry hung up the phone and turned to the gang.

"That was Dally! The cops are after him. We've gotta hide him!"

Darry's words were urgent and no one in the house hesitated to follow him out the front door. Together, we sprinted down the damp, dark streets to the park. In the distance, we saw Dally running in our direction, police cars chasing him down. The scene was surreal as the approaching squad cars trapped Dallas like an animal and our friend resorted to his "bluff" for escape.

"It's not loaded!" Ponyboy shouted when he saw the gun Dally had held up toward the officers. The other boys yelled out the same warning to the policemen, but the words fell on deaf ears. Shots rang out! I watched as Dally's body was jerked to and fro from the bullets until he lay dead in the street, beneath the eerie glow of the street lamp.

"No!" Two-Bit screamed. "He's just a kid!"

The sound of the shots echoed through my mind. I heard Darry berate the officers then Ponyboy mumbled. "… Johnny, now Dallas…" My brother's words caused me to turn toward him, the sound of bullets whizzing through the air, still clear in my ears. I watched him collapse to the pavement. I turned back toward the approaching officers and saw Duke Dobbins standing among them. I saw the smoking gun in his hand and the edges of his black handlebar mustache curl up as he smiled. I convinced myself Duke had killed Dally! He had shot Ponyboy! He had driven Casey from my life. "You bastard!" I screamed with every ounce of energy and hate I had in me. "You killed her! You killed her and now you killed them!"

Hot tears flowed from my eyes and each of my muscles filled with rage as I charged at the man. I grabbed a hold of him, punching, kicking and scratching as violently as I could. I yelled at the murderer. "She was my best friend and now she's gone!"

Quickly, his friends grabbed my body and pinned me to the wet street. I struggled to get free but the men seized my arms and pulled them behind my back. "NO! I screeched in terror as the men bound my wrists with metal handcuffs. "Let me go you murderer!" I kicked and struggled to free myself.

Darry watched in shock as the officers wrestled me to the ground. "Let her go! She didn't mean it, let her go!" He begged the policemen, but kept his distance just enough to not anger the officers.

"Get her in the car!" One angry officer yelled as he wiped a stream of blood from under his nose.

"You can't haul her away!" Two-Bit's voice cracked as he walked up to Darry's side.

In the darkness, I could see Ponyboy's body lying unconscious on the ground, Sodapop by his side. I sobbed and screamed with my hoarse voice. "No… no…. you shot Ponyboy. Not him… why him too?" Then two of Duke's friends picked me up by the arms and pulled me across the street to a parked car. I dully heard Darry's voice pleading in the background for them to let me go.

Darry followed behind the officers. "You can't do this to her. She didn't mean it. She's confused! You don't understand!" He cried out as the officers ignored him.

One man opened the squad car door. I fought and kicked wildly for my freedom. No matter how hard I fought, they fought harder. There was little I could do without the use of my arms. Soon, I was trapped inside the backseat of the car. I screamed uncontrollably for my mom and dad to save me. When they didn't come I yelled for Sodapop and Darry. Inevitably, no one came and I was sure Duke Dobbins would kill me by morning. In fear, I cowered to the floor resting my back against the other door. With my hands bound behind my back I stared at the windows praying Duke wouldn't show his face. "Please don't kill me…" I repeatedly cried for my life, "…I won't tell anyone you did it … I don't want to die."

"Just let me talk to her!" Darry howled a few dozen feet from the police car I was in.

The lead officer in charge of the crime scene stepped in front of my brother, not intimidated by Darry's size. "Listen, we've got a real mess here. I got one dead juvenile. I got an ambulance on the way for the boy over there and we will deal with the girl when we have everything else figured out. Now get back over to that side of the street or I'll have you arrested for disturbing the peace."

Darry looked down at the unsympathetic officer. "She's my little sister." He said calmly and fought back tears. "She didn't mean to hurt anyone. She's been through a lot lately and she's just confused."

The officer didn't care. "Go away! You can deal with her after we haul her down to the juvenile detention facility!" Darry stood in shock for a moment debating if he should grab me and flee or just do as he was told. Eventually, he turned and walked away from the officer and the squad car. Faintly, he could still hear my cries.

Darry joined the gang and waited on the side of the road. Sodapop held Pony's head in his lap and tears in his eyes. "Darry…what's going on? What are they going to do with her?"

"I don't know little buddy, they won't talk with me right now." Darry held his lower lip as tight as he could to hold back his emotions. "How's Pony?"

"Not too good." Soda answered and his voice cracked. "He won't wake up."

Darry crouched down next to his youngest brother. "Come on, little buddy…wake up and be all right…okay?"

Steve stood near Two-Bit, his arms wrapped around his chest, shaking like the rest of his body. He and Two-Bit watched as the crime scene was marked and photographed. Two officers arrived and callously searched Dallas' dead body. Two-Bit looked on in horror as his cherished black handled switchblade was pulled from Dally's back pocket.

"That's my blade." Two-Bit muttered and became upset. "I can't believe they're taking my switchblade!"

"Is that all you're worried about?" Steve snapped, his eyes red from crying.

"No!" Two-Bit quivered and bit his lip to calm his nerves, "but that's what I'm wishing was all that's bothering me!"

"You two knock it off." Darry warned them and breathed in deep to calm his sobs. The first ambulance arrived and two medics approached the gang, pulling a gurney for Ponyboy. After the medics checked him over and lifted his body onto the gurney, a tall gray haired man in a tan trench coat approached the boys.

"Darrell?"

Darry looked up from Pony's side and recognized the man. Quickly, he stifled his crying and stood up tall. "Mr. Ottavi."

"I was called here because the officers shot that boy." Mr. Ottavi looked around at the sorrowful, dirty, bruised faces of the boys. He tried to put the pieces of the story together then he noticed Ponyboy lying on the gurney. "Oh no." Mr. Ottavi muttered and pointed to Dallas' body. "This is the boy who rescued the children from the church fire, isn't it?" Everyone in the gang shook their heads yes. Mr. Ottavi turned to Darry with empathy in his eyes. "What can I do to help?"

Darry looked away to wipe his eyes then turned back to the City Attorney. "Scout's here too." Shame seemed to fill Darry's body. "She aint doing too well though. I think the sound of the gunshots messed her head up. She thought one of the officers was Duke Dobbins and she attacked him." Darry was a bit embarrassed by my behavior. "They got her locked up in a squad car over there. Mr. Ottavi… she didn't mean to harm anyone…"

Mr. Ottavi stepped close to my brother and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know, I'll go see what I can do about getting her out of this mess." Kathryn's dad looked down at my twin. "What happened to Ponyboy?" Mr. Ottavi looked up at the gang. "You all look like you've been in one hell of a fight."

Darry avoided responding to the fight comment. "Our friend, Johnny Cade, died in the hospital about an hour ago, now Dallas… I think it was too much for the young ones to handle."

Mr. Ottavi looked to the medics, "you boys take good care of that one." The attorney turned back to Darry. "Let me go see what I can do for Scout," and he walked away from the gang.

Sodapop pulled Darry close before he spoke to him. "Do you think he'll be able to help?"

"I sure hope so." Darry muttered back. "Listen, I want you to ride along to the hospital with Ponyboy. I'll stay here with Scout." Soda agreed and hugged his brother. Wiping more tears from his eyes, Sodapop walked along side the gurney and climbed into the ambulance with his younger brother. Darry, Steve and Two-Bit watched as the first ambulance rolled away with Ponyboy inside and the second rolled away with Dally.

"We'll stay with you Darry," Two-Bit said, "till you find out what they are going to do with Scout."

Inside the police car was hot. The vinyl seats smelled funny, and my arms were throbbing with pain. I sat with my knees pulled close to me and my head buried between them. Unstoppable tears rolled from my eyes and clarity began to enter my mind as the red lights of sirens blinked through the sky. Slowly, I realized I was trapped in handcuffs in the back of a squad car, but I had no clue as to why. In the distance I heard more sirens leave the area and I recalled Casey wasn't dead, just gone.

I used my knees to wipe the tears from my eyes and pushed against the back door with my legs to help myself climb onto the back seat. Cautiously, I peeked out the windows looking for Duke. Instead of finding him I saw police officers, lots of them. _Perhaps they have arrested him again_, I thought to myself. Feeling a little braver, I scooted across the smelly car seat to the door the men had pushed me through. I looked over to the area of the street illuminated by the street lamp. Dally wasn't there, Ponyboy was gone, but Darry, Two-Bit, and Steve remained, sitting on the curb.

"Darry!" I yelled for him and kicked at the door. When he didn't hear me I screamed louder. "DARRY!" This time my brother looked up, then stood up. The boys next to him stood up too. Together the three of them walked around the marked crime scene and toward the police car that held me. "Darry! Help me… please help me Darry." I grew excited that I had my brother's attention and he and his friends were coming to let me out. My excitement turned to rage as two officers, a paramedic and a tall man in a trench coat stopped the boys half way and blocked my view of my brother. "Darry!" I screamed again and began to kick at the door. "Darry get me out of here!" Tears swamped my eyes again and blurred the image of the men.

I squeezed my eyes shut tight to clear them and noticed Darry walking toward me with the same men who had just stopped him. Looking out the window, I noticed the tall man was Mr. Ottavi. One officer walked to the door behind me, and the second pulled open the door closest to me. With one hand on the roof and one on the open door Mr. Ottavi leaned in and smiled at me. 

"Hi there, Scout. It's good to see you again." He spoke calmly and kept eye contact with me. "Do you remember who I am?"

I shook my head yes, then hoarsely whispered. "You're Kathryn's dad."

Mr. Ottavi's face filled with a smile. "That's right! Listen, Darry really misses you and he wants to see you, but before we can let you go to him a nice man from the hospital needs to give you a shot in your arm. Is that okay?" I shook my head yes. Kathryn's dad asked me another question. "You promise to be good and not to hurt anyone else?"

I looked back at the man and my throat tightened with guilt. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I was just so scared to see Mr. Dobbins." My lower lip quivered, "… I think he shot my brother."

Mr. Ottavi's smile frowned. "No, sweetheart, Ponyboy just fainted and Mr. Dobbins is still locked up in jail."

Confusion filled my mind and I tried to make sense of the information but couldn't. Mr. Ottavi called for my attention again. "Scout, Officer Johnsen is going to come in the other door to be sure you don't hurt anyone while we give you the shot, if you're good Darry is right here and we will let you see him. Are you ready?"

I shook my head yes and turned to watch the officer cautiously climb in through the other door and sit by my side. He wrapped his hand around my arm and put another hand on my leg to be sure to hold me down. Turning my attention back to the other open door I saw the medic lean in. He took a hold of my left arm and pushed the needle from the syringe through my clothes and then into my skin. The liquid inside burned my arm as he pushed it into my body. I winced in pain, but didn't struggle.

"All right, young lady," The officer inside the car with me spoke. "Turn a little and I'll take the handcuffs off."

I pivoted in my seat and felt a rush of relief as my arms were freed and allowed to the front of my body. The second officer, who had been standing by Mr. Ottavi's side, reached in and helped me out of the squad car. I steadied my feet on the wet grass for just a second then looked up to see Darry waiting just a few feet away next to Two-Bit and Steve. "Darry!" I yelped and stumbled toward him.

"Oh, baby girl." He sighed and wrapped me in his arms. "Don't you worry, everything is going to be all right. They are going to take good care of you."

I heard Darry's words, but before I could ask him who was going to take good care of me, my mind grew fuzzy. The strong sedative they had administered had taken affect and the world went dark as I slumped in Darry's arms.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen 

I brushed my hair back into a ponytail then quickly pulled out the rubber band because I couldn't get my hair to look as good as I wanted it. I grew frustrated that no matter what I did I couldn't get anything in my life to go right. Glancing into the mirror I noticed my reflection again. The bruise on the side of my face from fighting with the officers was fading to a light brown, but the bags under my eyes from exhaustion were still dark. I stared at myself with disappointment.

After witnessing Dallas being shot to death I suffered a mental breakdown. The doctors assured my brother's my condition was due to exhaustion and fear from the past year's events. Thankfully, Mr. Ottavi, the City Attorney, was at the scene and convinced the officer I had attacked not to press charges. Instead of going to the juvenile detention facility I spent a day and a half in the hospital for shock and exhaustion, Ponyboy too. It took some arguing, but Darry managed to get the hospital administrator to let my brother and me to share the same hospital room. When I woke up in the hospital my brothers told me how frightened they were when I lost my mind and attack the officers. To add to their problems they learned how sick Ponyboy really was. He had suffered a concussion from the rumble. All of us had come home Monday evening, but Ponyboy hadn't fully recovered yet. Here it was Tuesday morning and he was still sick and delirious in bed. He was in such bad shape that he was going to miss Johnny and Dally's burials this morning.

I picked up the hairbrush and tried to pull it through my unruly hair. Upset with my struggle, I sat down on the edge of the tub and cried. My semi-curly locks needed to be cut, but that cost money my family didn't have. Plus, with winter coming I still needed a winter coat and clothes that were my size. Desperate, I made a decision. I dug through the medicine cabinet and pulled out my mother's scissors. I tried to trim my hair, but I just couldn't get it even. I looked in the mirror at the mess I was making and I cried through my tears. "Nice going stupid! Now it looks worse than before!" Dropping the scissors onto the edge of the sink I buried my face in my hands and cried, but my tears truly had little to do with how my hair looked.

Hearing my cries Sodapop came into the bathroom. He noticed the large chunks of hair in the sink. "Scout! What are you doing?" His tired eyes were confused.

"I'm just trying to get my stupid hair to look nice, but nothing I do seems to work!" I said through my sobs. "It needs to be cut … so I tried to cut it and now it looks even worse."

"Why don't you just go down to the beauty parlor and get it cut this afternoon?" Soda asked and rubbed my back.

I looked at him and failed to understand his simple view on like. He didn't understand my plight. "Sodapop, I don't want to waste money on a hair cut. I am going to need a new winter coat this year and that'll be expensive." I sniffled and grabbed some toilet paper to blow my nose. "Besides, I already started cutting it, but I can't get it straight."

Sodapop cocked his head to the side and looked at me the way my mother often did when I had a problem. "Here, let me try." Sodapop picked up the scissors and worked very hard to trim my curly hair even. When he was finished I looked in the mirror. It was a great improvement and just what I needed. I picked up the hairbrush and pulled my hair back into a barrette.

"Thanks Soda. Sorry for getting so upset."

"No problem," my brother smiled and hugged me, "now get dressed or we are gonna be late."

I went to my room and put on the best looking hand-me-downs that Kathryn had given me. I looked nice wearing a blue sweater and plaid gray skirt. I sat on my bed and pulled on my loafers. They were very tight and I added that to my mental list of things I needed, but was too afraid to ask for. Dressed and ready I quietly tiptoed into Ponyboy's bedroom and looked down at Darry who was sitting in the armchair he had pulled in from the living room.

"You look nice Scout." Darry said. He was still wearing his work clothes from the day before. "Give my regrets to everyone for me, okay?"

"Sure Darry." I said and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you."

Darry smiled back. "I love you too Sissy." I leaned across the bed and kissed Ponyboy's hot cheek. I whispered that I loved him and I hope he would get well soon. I stood up and sighed just as a horn honked outside.

"That's Steve and Two-Bit. You and Soda better get going." Darry directed. I walked out of the room and followed Sodapop out the front door. The two of us rode together in the backseat of Steve's car on the way to the cemetery. Two-Bit, Evie and Steve rode in the front seat, no one spoke.

At the cemetery I climbed out of the car, took hold of Sodapop's hand, and started across the lawn toward the area where two caskets were laid out, ready for burial. Sadly, both Dallas and Johnny would be given a direct funeral, or as it is sometimes known, a poor man's funeral. This meant the coffins would be simply buried with no visitation and no funeral service.

When we arrived a small crowd had already gathered. According to Steve, Dallas's father was nowhere to be found. Steve was the only one who had ever met Dally's dad, but Johnny's parents were present. Let me tell you, it sure bothered all of us that Johnny's mother was crying for him. She sure had some nerve.

A line of men in black suits stood near the caskets. At first I didn't pay them any attention. Then a taller, older man stepped forward to say a few words to lay our friends to rest. He spoke kind words about Dallas and Johnny as if he had known them himself. Minutes later the remaining three men stepped forward. It was then I noticed Owen Jasper. He was dressed in a black suit to match all the others. He was with the men from the cemetery who collected the ropes from the ground, and slowly lowered Dallas into the ground. When the first casket was steady below the men lowered Johnny to the ground as well. Watching the event pulled at my heart and I held my breath as often as I could to keep from sobbing uncontrollably.

In less than ten minutes the burials were over and the crowd began to disperse. Sodapop grabbed my hand. We turned to follow Steve and Evie back to the car when Buck Merrill somberly called out. "In honor of Dally, the first round's on me at my place!"

"Sounds good to me!" Two-Bit remarked solemnly.

"Evie and I are with you," Steve said then he looked to Sodapop hoping he would come and be with the boys.

My brother shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." Sodapop never drank, but I wondered if he wanted to be around his friends.

"Scout!"

I heard my name called and turned my head to see who it was.

"Scout," Owen Jasper walked towards me. "I am sorry about your friends."

I let go of Soda and Two-Bit's hands and turned to looked at Owen with confusion. "Owen… aren't you suppose to be in school?"

Owen stopped in front of me. He looked even more handsome then before. "I begged my parents to let me help out today. I figured you would be here." The boy nervously licked his lips and quickly looked at the greasers who were listening in to the conversation. "I know this sounds strange, but I was wondering if… if you felt like it, maybe going over to Rusty's for a Coke or something." Owen then looked toward the boys for approval.

I frowned a little and turned my head to try and hide the remnants of the bruise on my face. "I'm not sure. My brother, Ponyboy is still really sick and I should get home to help take care of him."

Now it was Sodapop's turn to frown at me. "Nah Sissy. You go ahead, Pony'll be fine. Darry and I will be looking over him." I looked up to Sodapop and felt pressured a little, but Sodapop knew what was best for me.

"I don't know?" I whispered to Sodapop.

Sodapop let go of my hand. "Well I do, and I think you should go. Besides, it'd do you some good to get out of the house for awhile."

Owen smiled at Soda's wisdom. I looked back at the blond haired boy with nervousness in my stomach. "Okay, I'll go, but if you don't mind I'd like to get home soon."

"Don't worry Owen, you two stay out as long as you want." Sodapop said like a father. Then he questioned himself, "well … actually, have her home by dinner."

"I will," The smile on Owen's face grew wide. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." Owen gently grabbed my hand with his and led me in the opposite direction of my friends.

I walked away thinking of how excited I should be that this beautiful boy was holding my hand, but all I felt was fear and sorrow. I glanced back over my shoulder and noticed Sodapop and Two-Bit still watching me walk away. I wondered what they were thinking. Perhaps the two of them were wondering if I would be fine on my own. Maybe they were happy to get rid of me. What I missed was the fact that as I strolled away with Owen Jasper, Junior class president of our high school, I was entering a new society. One the boys in my gang were never invited into. For the first time in my life I, Scout Marie Curtis, was leaving the only friends I had ever known, and crossing alone, into a new social class.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's notes and deleted scenes:**

I would like to thank everyone again for the great reviews and your reading of this story. It is great having a captivated audience to write for. Truly, your reviews motivate me through every word of the story!

Here is a little babble about writing the story, coming up with ideas and a deleted scene: In the beginning I thought writing this part of the Scout Saga would be difficult. I did not look forward to writing "in between the lines" of The Outsiders. I found that task to be daunting and worried that Scout would not fit in well. Knowing this I worked hard to be sure to include her just enough so the reader could actually imagine her in the scenes from the book, while being sure she didn't drastically change the plot of The Outsiders. I have learned through so many reviews that I did well, thank you for your feedback on that one.

Landslide is an overly confusing and emotional time for Scout. She is dealing with the horror of being shot at, losing her closest friend (Casey moving back to NM) and then her most favorite person in the world runs away and vanishes in the middle of the night. These events, toppled with the absent parents, left her lost and alone even when she had plenty of people around her. I believe traumatic situations can often force a person into their own personal hiding and that is where Scout chose to go for her own protection. Now, the problem with that was pulling her back out of her solitude so she could become an active participant in the story again. This "hook" took some time to figure out, but once I decided to have her go look for Ponyboy in drives Owen Jasper.

At first he is just a minor character to the story. In his initial creation he was just a nice guy, helping Scout out when she needed it. In only a few days of writing I realized he would become one of the central stories in the next installment of my series. I am very excited with the direction I have chosen for Owen and his family.

In Landslide I also wanted an opportunity to tell the story of what happened back on the block while Ponyboy was gone. Telling this meant I had to weave many elements from the book into a short span of time; Soda and Sandy breaking up, Two-Bit getting jumped, Dallas getting arrested, and the growing tension between the social classes. Writing these parts required me to "walk along" with The Outsiders, so I had to give up a lot more of my artistic freedom.

The hardest plot point for me to come up with was deciding how to connect Scout and Ponyboy together again. Originally, I thought about having her reunite at the hospital, but I loved that scene in the movie so much that I didn't want her to be a part of that. Many days of thought went into how she could be at the hospital but not part of the brother reunion. Right before bed one night I came up with the idea that Scout would follow Dally to the hideout and be involved in the fire. Once this idea came to my head I knew it would be a good, and somewhat believable, scene. After that part the rest of the story flowed well.

Through out the whole story the only deleted scene I have is the one from Chapter Eighteen. During this scene I wrote about the funeral and I wanted to reintroduce Owen Jasper, but I didn't like the long drawn out chapter. The old draft is below.

Deleted Scene:

_I leaned across the bed and kissed Ponyboy's hot cheek. I whispered that I loved him and I hope he would get well soon. I stood up and sighed just as a horn honked outside. _

"_That's Steve and Two-Bit. You and Soda better get going so you're not late." Darry directed. I walked out of the room and followed Sodapop out the front door. The two of us rode together in the backseat on the way to the cemetery. _

_Sadly, both boys would be given a direct funeral, or as it is sometimes known, a poor man's funeral. This meant the bodies would be simply buried with no visitation and no funeral service. Thankfully the funeral home director spoke with Johnny's parents, Dallas had no one for them to speak to, and convinced them to let the burials happen at the same time so the funeral home could do a small graveside service for free. Steve had told us he heard the funeral director wanted to do this as a thanks to Dallas and Johnny for saving the children from the burning church. _

_Quietly I began to cry, then my emotions grew stronger and I cried harder. I tried on several occasions to not be noisy, but it didn't work. _

"_Awe Damn it Scout!" Steve finally yelled. "Are you going to cry the whole way there?" _

_Immediately I held my breath still trying to quiet myself. Sodapop and Two-Bit didn't take to lightly to Steve losing his patience. Both of the boys told their friend to shut up. _

"_Don't you worry none Scout, you can cry if you need to." Sodapop comforted me and held me close. It was rare that he and Steve didn't agree, but this was one of those rare times. _

"_Sissy, I didn't mean it like it sounded." Steve looked at Two-Bit then to the backseat at the two of us. "I just aint been sleeping well and …look I'm sorry." _

_His apology was sincere and I worked hard on taking a few deep breaths to calm myself. We pulled into the cemetery and followed the winding roads until we found a line of old cars. Steve pulled off to the side of the road and parked. Sodapop and I climbed out of the backseat and waited for Steve to walk around from the other side of the car. _

"_Welcome," An older gentleman in a black suit approached us. "Are you here for the Cade and Winston burials?" The formality of the situation felt improper for the friends we were here to say goodbye to. _

_Two-Bit looked to the man. "Yes sir." _

"_Right this way," The man smiled politely and began to lead us up the hill. I took hold of Sodapop's hand and started across the lawn toward the area where two caskets were laid out, ready for burial. _

"_Scout!" _

_I heard my name called and turned to see who it was. _

"_Scout," Owen walked briskly towards me. He was dressed in a black suit to match all the others. "I have been waiting for you to arrive."_

_I looked at Owen with confusion. "Owen… aren't you suppose to be in school?"_

_Owen stopped in front of me. He looked even more handsome then before. "I begged my parents to let me help out with this l… I figured you would be here. I … I wanted to see you." I blushed a little and looked to Sodapop who was wearing a small smile. I looked back to Owen whose voice sounded a little nervous. "I have something for you … I figured you … I… there flowers for you to lay on the caskets. It's kind of customary for this type of funeral and I figured you wouldn't have brought any of your own. I hope you don't mind." _

_I grabbed Sodapop's hand again and smiled. "No I don't mind. Thanks." Owen seemed to breath a sigh of relief._

"_Hey ah…." Two-Bit joined into the conversation. His voice was quiet. "I just wanted to be sure to thank you and your parents for putting together a nice burial for our friends. I know you are doing most of the fancy stuff here for free." _

_Owen gently smiled back. "I'll let me father know you appreciate the gesture. I know he was very impressed with your friends saving those children."_

_Owen turned and led us to the funeral. Owen pulled out two bundles of yellow roses tied together with a red ribbon. The flowers were just gorgeous and it had been a long time since I had seen or smelled a rose, we didn't have them for my parents funeral. Owen's father spoke kind words about Dallas and Johnny as if he had known them himself._ _When he was finished Owen and five other men from the cemetery collected the ropes from the ground and slowly lowered Dallas into the ground. When the first casket was steady below the men lowered Johnny to the ground as well. Watching the event pulled at my heart and I held my breath as often as I could to keep from sobbing. _

_When the caskets had reached the bottom Owen's father looked my way. "You may lay the flowers." Hesitantly I stepped forward and peered over the edge into the sun lit hole that Dally laid in. I closed my eyes, said a small prayer and tossed the first bouquet to the casket below. I then walked to the side of Johnny's grave and couldn't help but sob as I said a second small prayer and a brief goodbye before gently tossing the flowers to the bottom. Before I stepped back Owen's father spoke again. "Dust to dust and ashes to ashes, Dallas Winston and Jonathan Cade will be missed by many. At this time I would encourage those who loved this man to step forward to help in his burial." _

_Owen walked up to my side with a steel shovel in his hand. "Would you like to toss the first shovel of dirt?"_

_I looked at him and grabbed a hold of the shovel. I had read about funerals like this from_ _days gone by, but never attended one. I took the lead and gathered a small pile of dirt on the scoop of the shovel then tossed it as gently as the roses on the caskets below. I stepped back from the graves and handed the shovel to Sodapop who followed suit. Then Steve, Two-Bit, Tim Sheppard, Buck Merrill, and many others did the same as they paid their last respects. _

_When the burials ended Buck Merrill called out. "First rounds on me at my place!" _

"_Sounds good to me!" Two-bit remarked solemnly. _

"_Evie and I are with you," Steve said then he looked to Sodapop hoping he would come and be with the boys. _

_My brother shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." Sodapop never drank, but I wondered if he wanted to be around his friends._

"_Scout?" Owen Jasper walked up to me. "I was wondering if… if you felt like it maybe going over to Rusty's for a Coke or something." Owen then looked toward the boys for_ _approval. _

_I frowned a little. "I'm not sure. My brother, Ponyboy is still really sick and I should get home to take care of him." _

_Now it was Sodapop's turn to frown at me. "Nah Sissy. You go ahead, Pony'll be fine. Darry and I will be looking over him." I looked up to Sodapop and felt pressured a little, but Sodapop knew what was best for me. _

"_I don't know …" I whispered to Sodapop._

_Sodapop let go of my hand. "Well I do and I think you need to go."_

-End Deleted Scene-

Thanks again to all of my readers and reviewers. I am glad you have enjoyed the story. I plan to put up one more storyline for Scout. I hope you enjoy the last edition: Aftermath.

Sincerely,

Erinskie


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